Looking towards Lorentzville, Joburg’s up-and-coming arts hub Less than a year ago, if you looked up a list of Joburg’s must-see creative hubs, you wouldn’t have seen Lorentzville ranking very high. In fact, there’s a good chance that most Joburg residents didn’t even know where Lorentzville was. Thanks to a few dedicated artistic projects and venues, that’s all beginning to change, writes Dave Mann.
L
orentzville is a small stretch of land that sits behind
Robbie Brozin opened it in the early 1990s, and after a
the Jukskei River and runs alongside Bertram’s,
redesign of the building a few years ago, it doesn’t seem like
New Doornfontein, and Troyeville. Once a working-
it’ll be going anywhere soon.
class Jewish neighbourhood, Lorentzville became
The Nando’s Central Kitchen features an upstairs
a predominantly Portuguese area before transforming into
party deck, water features and installations, loads of local
a multicultural working-class suburb. In the years that
artworks, and even its own radio station. Of course, it’s not
followed, the area became characterised by a collection of old,
the many features of the Central Kitchen that make it such
crumbling buildings and disused factories.
a special venue, but rather the various relationships and
Nowadays, though, Lorentzville’s looking good. The old
community-based projects it’s helped foster over the years.
Johannesburg suburb is filling up with new venues, artists,
Through its unique flair and sustained commitment to the
and pockets of creativity, and it seems as if it’s having a
arts, the Nando’s Central Kitchen has brought some much-
domino effect on the surrounding areas too.
needed attention to the Lorentzville area which has resulted
The creative core of the area is the Nando’s Central Kitchen. The building’s been there since Nando’s co-founder
54 / Creative Feel / May 2018
in some truly innovative projects and developments taking root there.
