/file/attachments/2987/0872768_0_701378.jpeg "Joburg’s ‘dangerous’ jazz clubs are secretly the coolest spots you’re not invited to.")
CULTURE IS BECOMING A LUXURY IN JOBURG, AND THE STREETS ARE TELLING A DIFFERENT STORY.
While the wealthy sip cocktails on the 13th floor listening to jazz at Hugh’s, a brutal play about street survival, ‘Yangthola!’, wins awards just miles away. This isn’t coincidence. This is a city SPLITTING IN TWO.
Look at the evidence. A FREE exhibition on apartheid’s legacy opens in Newtown. Meanwhile, tickets for exclusive jazz showcases at ‘The Offering’ cost R350—a week’s food for many. The photos don’t lie: elegant galleries in Rosebank, polished runs in Sandton. These images are a BRUTAL CONTRAST to the reality of the “street dweller” portrayed on stage at the State Theatre.
Who wins here? The elites who can afford R200-R350 tickets for “subtle” Swiss-South African collaborations. The galleries showcasing American artists. The foundations with panoramic views. Who LOSES? The artists screaming about homelessness and substance abuse for a R100 ticket. The city’s soul is being auctioned off, one “curated experience” at a time.
The article itself admits the divide: it argues Joburg needs a “night-time mayor” to manage safety and joy after dark. But the events listed prove the night is already managed—for those who can pay to be safe, transported, and entertained.
They want you to believe culture is thriving. The real story is that it’s being GENTRIFIED, wrapped in velvet rope, and sold back to the rich while the urgent, gritty truth is confined to award-winning FRINGE performances.
The powerful would rather you stare at a lenticular artwork about struggle than face the living human being sleeping on the street beneath it.
Edited for Kayitsi.com
Author: Kayitsi.com
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