Uncover Newtown, Maboneng and the Apartheid Museum with a true local

Newtown’s a powerhouse of the most talented artists you could ever find from all over Africa. It went through a tough period around 2007 and struggled for a while to come back. Now it’s amazing. On my tours, I like to take people to the square of Newtown called Mary Fitzgerald where under a bridge you’ll find around 25 pillars of back-to-back street art. There’s a section that looks a bit sketchy but it has all this graffiti – it’s like walking into a movie scene. Then we have legends like John Kani – the actor in Black Panther in the Marvel comic movies. He’s a Newtown product. He made the Market Theatre happen. If you see him live on stage, method acting? Ah man, there’s nothing like that. These are just some of the people you’ll find in Newtown. You’ll never notice them because they don’t dress like legends, they dress like normal people…until you hear the guy playing an instrument.

In Maboneng, they started reconstructing old infrastructures that were run down in a very dangerous neighbourhood known as Jeppestown. It started from one kilometre, now it’s more than seven kilometres long. I usually begin at the Maboneng Sunday markets. They started off as a mini market selling arts and crafts. Now it’s rented to many different restaurants, art galleries and music spaces.

Then of course there is the Apartheid Museum. Sometimes I play around with the routes because it’s quite intense, even for me as a local and a historian. You could spend a good six hours there just taking in all the stories. Chances of you coming out without tears are slim. I’m always there though trying to help people make sense of what people are seeing. I’m very big on freedom. Whatever space you’re in, you should feel free.