The Johannesburg Art Gallery, better known as Jag, is situated on the corner of Klein and King George streets in Joubert Park – an area known as a taxi hotspot and driver’s nightmare.
Despite the unfortunate situation of the gallery, it serves a great purpose in Johannesburg. The gallery collects artworks of historical significance, displays the collections permanently or temporarily and preserves them in the gallery, which is also a heritage site.
The gallery was opened in the early 20th century by the wife of a wealthy businessman in the mining industry, Lady Phillips.
The construction of the gallery began in 1911, shortly after it was designed by architect Edwin Luteyns, but was only completed four years later.
The gallery was not as grand as it stands today when it was first built, and only began to grow into its impressive current stature in 1938 when the side wings were added to the construction.
It was in the 80s that the gallery received much-needed funds from the Anglo American Corporation and expanded once again. Since then, the gallery has undergone processes of rejuvenation – much like other parts of the city including Braamfontein – in order to attract people to view the historical art, but the busy area populated by taxis now makes it an undesirable place to visit without a tour guide.
Last year, in efforts to attract more people, the gallery began hosting monthly jazz sessions for lovers of music to enjoy art and the jazz sounds.
The gallery, which is now more than 100 years old, survived a discussion about possibly being demolished in 2014 and will hopefully stand for many more years.
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