Johannesburg Art Gallery restoration: Priceless artworks return home

More than 100 artworks belonging to the embattled Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) have safely returned to the city after being on loan to South Korea. The repatriated pieces include works by local masters such as William Kentridge and Gerard Sekoto, as well as international icons like Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet.

These significant pieces are on exclusive display at the Standard Bank Gallery for dignitaries attending the G20 Summit weekend, with French President Emmanuel Macron expected to visit the exhibition. A larger mini-collection of 145 artworks that were recently displayed in South Korea will also be part of this special exhibition, running from 22-23 November. The public can view the artworks in February 2026.

Restoration plans for the Johannesburg Art Gallery, which once housed the most valuable art collection in Africa, are firmly under way, with the museum officially scheduled to reopen in July 2027.

Executive Mayor Dada Morero announced on Wednesday, 19 November, that “significant strides” had been made to move more than 9,000 priceless artworks and restore the crumbling museum.

Morero confirmed that the city had received all necessary clearances, stating, “We are excited also to report that the Provincial Heritage Resource Authority of Gauteng has formally approved the city’s application for the necessary structural interventions in the restoration project.”

He added, “We have also secured all required approvals, covering key areas such as traffic impact, stormwater management, fire safety, water usage and land surveying, which means we can now move without any major challenges.”

Years of neglect and decay

The announcement follows years of corruption, mismanagement and neglect that had reduced the historic gallery to ruins. Previous investigations by publications such as Daily Maverick and Currency revealed that priceless artworks from artists including Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin, Gerard Sekoto, Sydney Khumalo and Jacobus Pierneef had been left vulnerable to decay.

Read more: Johannesburg Art Gallery ‘can’t survive’ another season of ruin and rain, heritage experts warn mayor

The museum’s location in Joubert Park, one of the city’s most crime-ridden areas, compounded the risk of theft. Structural damage was extensive: the copper roofing in the award-winning Meyer-Pienaar section had been removed, and an inferior material replaced a clay roof, leading to water leaks that caused black mould on the walls and damage to works of art, rendering some areas of the museum hazardous.

The dire state of the museum prompted nonprofit organisations Friends of Johannesburg Art Gallery (FOJ) and the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation (JHF) to take legal action. In November 2024, they enlisted the services of law firm Webber Wentzel in an effort to compel the city to relocate the critically endangered art collection.

Speaking at Museum Africa, CEO of the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA) Themba Mathibe detailed the efforts of the city and JDA, alongside civil society organisations and the South African Heritage Resource Agency, to secure the collection. Storage facilities in three buildings – Museum Africa, the Brixton Multipurpose Centre and the Johannesburg Library – have been upgraded to meet minimum standards for art preservation.

Mathibe showed journalists a room specially fitted with art racks, HVAC machines, fire detectors and dust-resistant materials, capable of storing up to 1,000 art pieces in a temperature and light-controlled environment.

“There is a fully fledged security team and a detailed security plan that has been interrogated extensively by our chief of police, as well as with the provincial police commissioner’s office, in regards to the relocation of those artworks,” Mathibe said.

In a joint statement, the FOJ and JHF confirmed that the city had approached them for a partnership, though a formal agreement is not yet in place. While invited to view the proposed storage sites for approval, the organisations maintained a cautious stance.

“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,” the statement read. “We maintain that the collection needs to be relocated from the JAG building as soon as possible as it is currently at great risk of water damage, heat damage, and/or theft.”

The organisations said that they had not discussed the planned reopening date with the city, and maintained that it could take up to five years for the building and art collection to be restored.

Morero also confirmed that select parts of the JAG collection would be exhibited elsewhere, including the paper collection, which will be displayed at the recently reopened Johannesburg Library. DM