In what is certainly one of South Africa’s biggest artistic and cultural coups in decades, the newest museum on the African continent has opened in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Wits Art Museum features the largest collection of African art ever gathered in one place, with over 9,000 priceless pieces including sculptures, oil paintings and drawings, carved masks from Nigeria, and Ndebele beadwork, as well as more contemporary charcoal drawings by William Kentridge (pictured at right) and wooden sculptures by Nelson Mukhuba. The works on display span eras, cultures and countries, with a special emphasis on South African artists. 

Adding to the one-of-a-kind, artistic ambiance of the Wits Art Museum is the architectural artistry of the building itself. 

As much thought was put into the design and feel of the museum as there was into collecting the art it would house. Following a national competition for the building’s design, the winning team (architects Nina Cohen, Fiona Garson and William Martinson) went on to win the Absolut VISI Designer of the Year Award. The architects created a spatially compelling, almost undulating, open space, with transparent walls around the periphery of the museum. This transparency allows the sounds, sights, and even passersby on the streets of Johannesburg – the epitome of a vibrant African city – to be incorporated and “invited” into the museum. 

So far the public’s reaction to the new museum has been overwhelming. Fiona Rankin-Smith, Special Projects Curator of Wits At Museum says “We are thrilled at the response on all levels, from the numbers of visitors and sign-ups for our mailing list, to the appreciative responses to the building, and the art on display.” 

Unfortunately the massive exhibition concludes August 19th, but Wits Art Museum will continue to feature temporary, rotating exhibitions. 

Visit the Wits Museum website