New alternative creative space opens in Johannesburg CBD
by MFR
In amongst the sensory overload of downtown Johannesburg, with its constant stream of pedestrians, taxis, hawkers and street services from telephone access to hairdressing, a new multi-purpose cultural space has opened in Jeppe Street's Lister Medical Building. Though part of Johannesburg's medical services are indeed housed in the building, the top section is occupied by Intermission, an umbrella organisation that hosts Private Practice, a space for events, exhibitions, artists' studios, creative offices, screenings and collaborative endeavours.
The space coomprise 2 floors, each approximately 650 square meters, boasting a 360-degree view of Johannesburg's urban landscape. The 19th floor is used predominantly for events, photo- and film shoots and other commercially oriented activities. The recently opened 18th floor was developed to as an alternative platform in which artists could develop and exhibit their work.
According to Alastair MacLachlan, initiator and manager of the space '...the idea of creating Private Practice stems from my own search for an exhibition space, in which I could showcase my work, while consciously avoiding the big names... something cheaper, something that could help with making it one's own... an alternative! It's about creating a space artists can do something with, a space solely focussed on creativity in all its forms. In other words creating 2 platforms - a space, which facilitates creativity and a platform for showcasing the outcome. The biggest drive for me is the belief that what creative people do privately in their studios or workspaces is what the broader public should see... Private Practice is not run as a business in the cut-throat sense of the term, it's about providing a space which can facilitate an ongoing collaboration by housing a variety of creative media and activities.'
Private Practice is interested in creating an alternative trajectory to the proliferation of artist-led exhibition spaces in Johannesburg's CBD, hopefully facilitating a more cohesive artistic programme and allowing collaborations between a broad range of practitioners to flourish.
In November of 2006, Intermission held a re-screening of an installation of films made by Theresa Collins and Mocke Janse Van Vuuren at the venue. The significance of this lay in the fact that the building had originally been used by Collins and Janse Van Vuuren as a site from which they shot an element of their urban collage. MacLachlan saw it as appropriate to use the newly opened venue and so provide a sneak preview of what the 18th floor has to offer. An article on the screening can be found at http://www.chico.mweb.co.za/art/2006/2006nov/061124-inner.html.
Private Practice is available specifically but not exclusively for visual art exhibitions. It also invites potential tenants such as filmmakers, animators, audio/visual and performance artists, seeking to rent studio space.
For more information, contact Alastair McLachlan:
Tel: 083 5618536
Email: intermission@mosphere.co.za
http://intermission.co.za
18th Floor, Lister Medical Building, 195 Jeppe St. (secure parking off Bree St.), Johannesburg CBD.
MFR is the pseudonym of a Johannesburg-based arts administrator, who has worked on projects such as Joubert Park Public Art project and the CAPE Africa Platform. MFR is currently developing visual art and film based projects under the banner of urbanart project
