Kensington artist shares her love of Jozi

Gail Wilson from Kensington is an artistic soul who is on a mission to change people’s perception one artwork at a time.

“People judge places before they even visit them. If we take the time to educate ourselves about our surroundings and suburbs we would love them more,” shared Gail.

She described herself as a ‘Jozi girl’ as she loves what the city has to offer.

She is not afraid to express herself through her art. That is evident when you walk into her home.

The house is painted black with interesting pieces of art in her yard.

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When you walk into her house a burst of colour and art pieces welcomes you and gives you an understanding of what Gail is all about.

She said, “I’m not a scrapbook artist. My art tells stories. I want my art to address issues we face on daily basis.”

She said she has a constant case of FOMO (fear of missing out) and that is why she got involved in the community and art world when she retired.

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She worked in the construction industry for over 25 years. When she retired she returned to her first love, namely art.

Gail is a member of Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, Joburg Photo Walkers, JoziLandArt, Rhodes Park Walkers, Friends of Rhodes Park and Rokpa Soup Kitchen. She has a Facebook page called Joburg Free to Fifty.

She said all these groups play a role in her life and she enjoys being part of them.

“I love all I do because it allows me to learn new things and meet wonderful people. We live in times where we are consumed by technology and we don’t get the time to enjoy what the world has to offer. We sit in front our televisions and forget to live life and sometimes we really need to take time out from all our busy lives and enjoy life,” she explained.

Gail shares some of her work on her Facebook page. That way people can see what is out there and be eager to explore the beautiful city of Jozi and its rich history.

She said, “When I go on these tours and share with people the history of our city, I feel joy and want more people to do these tours to learn about the city. It would be nice to see children being part of the tours and doing them as part of the curriculum because children love learning about things that they can see.”

Her fear of missing out is beneficial to her and those around her because she always knows what is happening where and why. That’s what her page, Joburg Free to Fifty, is all about: sharing events around Jozi.

“We always say things are expensive in Jozi and that you can never have fun without spending too much. My page shares events that are free or under R50,” said Gail.

She said if people took the time to put down their phones and go out and find out what they can do, they would discover that they can have fun without gadgets.

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