Absolut Black Box hits Jozi

Taking place in a 15×25 cube with free-flowing vodka and some of the most promising artists present, the Absolut Black Box party came to Johannesburg and true to form, did not disappoint.

The Johannesburg activation took place at the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown and was part of an Absolut Vodka project, which aimed to put a spotlight on emerging artists in the country and create a platform for them to showcase their work.

According to Shirley Mabiletja, brand manager of the company, they have always taken an interest in the arts and have worked with celebrated artists for more than 30 years.

“With our Transform Today campaign, we aim to transform the way the brand collaborates with artists and strengthen our efforts to connect audiences through art,” she said.

Furthermore, the event aimed to create an experience with the audience that took them through the artist’s work and the final product which was debuted at the event.

This was done through different touch point areas that surrounded the dance floor, with each smaller box housing a different experience by four of South Africa’s top transformative artists. The list included the likes of Stu Shapiro, Angelo, Tumi Molekane, Yesterday’s Pupil, and Gogga.

Also present at the event were celebrities Felipe Mazibuko-Kunene and Amanda du Pont.

Mabiletja said the company worked with various partners to get emerging artists on board and will collaborate with MTV Base Africa in an effort to recognise emerging artists.

Mabiletja added that it was a way for emerging artists to showcase their work and get the public involved, using the event as a platform, and encouraged artists to get connected and follow the brand on social media to get noticed.

The other activation took place in Cape Town at the V&A Waterfront. This is the first year that the company has hosted the event and other smaller activations took place at various nightclubs countrywide.