Art is alive, well and flourishing in SA. A very good thing.

By Alec Hogg

Since arriving in London two years ago, I’ve been a regular on the free daily tours (11:30 and 2:30) at the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square. Listening to those super-qualified guides opened up a whole new world for this boy from the backwoods. So it was a delight to be invited by RMB to the Turbine Art Fair where I spent a fruitful couple of hours on Saturday.

The visit stirred up memories. Downtown Joburg has changed a great deal since I walked Sauer and Jeppe, Main and Mooi, in the 1980s as a young reporter. But patches of that era remain – especially in the parking basement of the iconic Diagonal Street building which still boasts signage of its glory years when it housed the JSE.

Once I got inside the old Turbine Hall, apart from a superb collection of Irma Sterns, the most notable aspect of the adventure was the crowds. There were lengthy queues for parking, entry tickets, coffee, even for getting up and down staircases. Which suggests quite strongly that art is alive, well and flourishing in South Africa.

And that is a very good thing. Art has the ability to open our minds and nudge us towards unconsidered perspectives. Which is a blessing for any young democracy still trying to discover itself.

Visited 52 times, 1 visit(s) today