Master of Architecture [Professional] at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, in the year 2014. / In the case of Johannesburg, unlike cities around the world that experienced inner city decline, its city centre was never entirely abandoned. It experienced rapid social change. As Johannesburg was beginning to change, the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) was experiencing a declining number of visitors. Unable to engage with the changing social structure, a fence was built around it and JAG turned itself inwards. This thesis explores the intention to take advantage of the rich and dynamic informal industry of hair that has emerged around JAG. Hair is loaded with social, sexual and political undercurrents. In an African city that has been colonized and becoming increasingly globalised, hair’s relevance in terms of politics must be brought to the forefront. By acknowledging the thriving inner workings and its contributors and by engaging in a critical discussion that people can relate to, JAG will be embraced by the community again. An intervention of mediation through architecture is proposed. A Hair Museum perched on the opposite side of the railway that weaves JAG closer into its current context by opening and improving dialogue between the disjointed surroundings. A new museum as a mediator explores the idea of museum-asurban system. The question is asked whether a public institution is capable of assisting a society through a museum by looking at the concept of the Greek ideal of kalokagathia, which means the perfection of the body and city based on balance, justice and proportion. This thesis essentially explores Julian Carman’s idea of a museum1; that the key to JAG’s survival and upliftment lies only if it inspires public ownership. This thesis will explore the significance of celebrating hair in an African city with visible impacts of an imperialist past. By celebrating hair, thereby beginning the discourse of it’s connotations, will allow for a transgression into where society and its’ perception of itself stands in a globalizating world. Museum’s play a key role in society to not only preserve memories but also re-ordering them and making sense of them for later generations (Watson, 2007: 4). The proposed Hair Museum as mediator is not so much about saving a contested and feared city- as much as it is about embracing the new spirit of the city and encouraging the potential held within. 1 Julian Carman, Author of ‘Uplifting The Colonial Philistine: Florence Phillips And The Making Of The Johannesburg Art Gallery’. See References.

A research report submitted to the Wits School of Arts in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters Degree in Coursework and Research in Arts, Culture and Heritage studies. Johannesburg, 2015 / One of the principal purposes of the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG), one of Johannesburg’s public institutions, is to educate the public through the arts. The many changes, including political changes, in South Africa that caused the movement of people from one area to another have affected the audience participation at this museum. The Johannesburg Art Gallery is located in Joubert Park, the southern part of Hillbrow, which has been affected by the changes that have taken place from the time of the museum’s inception to the present day, when the area is inhabited by black people from all over Africa. The concern is therefore to understand the relationship between these two. I plan to interrogate the mission of JAG, to find out if it is relevant to the community that it is located in, and if the community is aware and supportive of JAG’s activities. The purpose of this investigation is to challenge the methods that are used by JAG to obtain and maintain visitors to the museum, and to expand the target market group by shifting focus from the people that used to live within this community to the present-day inhabitants. This is done by finding out from the Joubert Park community what is it that they wish to see in this museum. By observing their everyday life and interviewing them, I explore why or how much the people of Joubert Park are involved in the Johannesburg Art Gallery today. To reach the conclusion of this research, observing the area and interviewing the community will be followed by interviewing the co-ordinators of the Joubert Park Project (started in 2000) that was designed for the purpose of involving this community in the public spaces and institutions around them, and finally the employees of the Johannesburg Art Gallery. In addition, studying recent successful exhibitions would possibly reveal the explanation of what people want to see. In this world of ever-changing technology and culture of cyber space, can a museum attract new audiences by using methods that are contemporary and interactive?

Thesis (MTech. degree in Architecture (Applied Design)--Tshwane University of Technology, 2012. / The aim of this thesis is to design an adaptive reuse, collaborative creative centre and public art gallery that is governed by a cultural institute, and financed by a corporate collaboration between the Johannesburg Development Agency and the Blue IQ. The design is intended to act as a catalyst to the city of Johannesburg and the Newtown cultural precinct, by injecting life and spirit back into the area, offering Newtown an opportunity to be in a constant state of activity and vibrancy, living up to its goal to be the cultural district of Johannesburg.