For more than a year, the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation and Friends Of JAG (JHF/FOJ) have been actively engaging with the City of Johannesburg (COJ), including its relevant departments and agencies, regarding the deteriorating condition of the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) – both in terms of the condition of the art collection and the building itself. In terms of the original Deed of Donation, the JAG belongs to the people of Johannesburg with the COJ as the custodian of JAG under the auspices of the Art Gallery Committee (AGC).
Recently, the JHF and FOJ were requested to enter into a partnership agreement with the city and the AGC in order to formalize this relationship and clearly define roles and responsibilities so that we may move forward effectively and collaboratively, for the greater benefit of JAG. This would include the issuing of joint media statements and briefings relating to JAG. The JHF/FOJ submitted a first draft of this agreement to the city and have been awaiting feedback from the COJ legal department for several weeks.
Without a formal agreement in place, we have continued engaging with the COJ and its representatives, and have been kept informed about progress being made on the JAG. As we understand it, this includes:
- The installation of an exhibition at the Standard Bank Gallery featuring 145 JAG artworks returned from a loan to Korea. We have not been directly involved in drafting the agreement between the COJ and Standard Bank (apart from supporting the Standard Bank Gallery as a suitable and secure facility to house the returning artworks). We have also not been invited to contribute to the installation and curation of the exhibition despite our stated desire to assist.
- A selection of the returned artworks will be on display for invited guests during the G20 summit, while a full exhibition of the 145 artworks will be opened to the public in February 2026. As committed stakeholders, we have been invited to attend the G20 preview event scheduled for later this week.
- The permanent JAG collection, which is vast, needs to be relocated from the JAG building as a matter of urgency. Firstly, the current condition of the JAG building is not up to museum standard with many water leaks, lack of climate control, poor security, etc. Secondly, the collection cannot remain in situ while construction work on the building is on-going (which is imminent). Three potential venues have been identified by the COJ where the collection can be stored, restored and digitized by qualified professionals. The city has undertaken work to upgrade these facilities, and site visits will be conducted by the COJ and the South African Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA) in early December to determine whether the suggested venues are fit for purpose. We have been invited to attend these site visits and offer our input. Thereafter, a tender will be issued by the city for art restorers to undertake the delicate relocation and restoration process. As part of the proposed partnership agreement, we would like some input on the adjudication process to ensure that suitably qualified people are appointed to this crucial role, as well as on-going oversight of the process.
- We are happy to note that a suitably qualified architectural firm with appropriate heritage experience has been appointed as the consultants for the restoration of the JAG building (Mayat Hart Architects). We have subsequently appointed a team of three people (an engineer and two architects) from our side to engage with Mayat Hart and offer feedback and oversight. This process is proceeding well with exploratory work already underway to determine the full scope of work that needs to be undertaken in order for the JAG building to be repaired properly. Once this is done, a cohesive plan of action will be presented for input, permits from the heritage authorities will be sought, and thereafter construction work can begin.
- For several years, the Art Gallery Committee (AGC) has not been correctly constituted as specified by the Deed of Donation. The COJ has now undertaken to reconstitute the AGC correctly with the appointment of several new members. However, this restructuring was done unilaterally by the city without any input from civil society partners and it is unclear to what extent the re-formed AGC has been included in recent decisions by the COJ.
- A public symposium to discuss the future form, function and governance of JAG has been proposed and will take place early in 2026, with our involvement.
As such, JHF/FOJ remains actively involved in the relocation and restoration processes but in the absence of a formal partnership agreement, our role and responsibilities remain undefined.
With regards to the media briefing conducted by the Executive Mayor on the 19th of November 2025, this was a unilateral action by the COJ. We were not explicitly invited to attend nor did we offer any direct input. It appears that this media briefing was scheduled ad hoc to coincide with the G20 Summit.
Additionally, we have been informed that the mayor announced that the restored JAG will be reopened by July 2027. This is not a date that we have discussed with the COJ and maintain that the joint restoration of the building and collection could take up to 5 years.
Furthermore, it should be noted that we have received several pledges from the private sector to assist in the parallel restoration processes but these offers depend on a partnership agreement with the city being formalised.
In summary:
- We are satisfied that the Standard Bank Gallery is a suitable and secure venue to house and display the returning artworks from Korea.
- We still need to conduct site visits to the three proposed storage venues that are intended to house the JAG’s permanent collection. Thereafter, we can determine whether they are secure and suitable. We maintain that the collection needs to relocated from the JAG building as soon as possible as it is currently at great risk of water damage, heat damage, and/or theft.
- While we welcome the new-found willingness of the COJ to engage with us in a constructive manner, we call on the city to finalize the partnership agreement (which they requested) so that we can formalize our roles and move forward in the spirit of true collaboration.
For additional information, please contact:
JHF: david@joburgheritage.org.za
or
FOJ: friend@friendsofjag.org
Issued: 19 November 2025
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- citylifearts.co.za – the controversial internationally lauded touring jag art collection returns home to a warm welcome at standard bank gallery
- ewn.co.za – homecoming exhibition brings 145 masterpieces back to johannesburg after a decade abroad (2025/11/21)
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- news24.com – art revival french funds breathe new life into joburgs treasure trove (2025/11/20)
- timeslive.co.za – artworks from dilapidated joburg gallery to be relocated (2025-09-18)
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- news24.com – from coffee shop to cutting edge joburgs art finds a new home (2025/11/19)
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