Lawyers warn Mayor Morero: Johannesburg Art Gallery’s priceless art is at risk

12 May 2003. Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. This South African bronze artwork can be viewed outside the Johannesburg Art Gallery.(Photo: Gallo Images)

By Ferial Haffajee

3 Sep 2024

Priceless artworks at Johannesburg Art Gallery are at risk of irreparable damage due to inadequate storage conditions, prompting urgent calls for the City to take action before the upcoming rainy season wreaks havoc on the continent's largest publicly owned art collection.

Only two out of 15 exhibition halls at the Johannesburg Art Gallery (JAG) are fit for use, with priceless artworks stored in the gallery’s coffee shop and boardrooms, where they could be irreparably damaged, lawyers representing the Friends of the JAG and the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation have warned.

In a 10-page letter to Mayor Dada Morero, delivered to City Manager Floyd Brink on 28 August, the lawyers said that if the mayor does not respond to their demand for an urgent meeting to plan the rescue of the artworks and the gallery, they will take the City to court.

A sculpture outside the Johannesburg Art Gallery. (Photo: Johannesburg Art Gallery)

An inspection conducted on 13 August revealed that 9,000 artworks are stored improperly, with only a small fraction on display. Visitor numbers have plummeted, and the continent’s largest and most valuable collection of publicly owned art is in jeopardy. Asmita Thakor of Webber Wentzel said: “They are at severe risk of damage, and some have already been damaged beyond repair.”

Thakor further noted: “Half of the storage rooms, where the remaining art is housed, are unsafe from water ingress, and the art collection must be routinely moved around to makeshift storage sites during heavy rains. There is an imminent threat to this art with the upcoming rainy season.”

Precariously stored

The artworks, worth hundreds of millions of rand, are precariously stored in Hillbrow, a high-crime area, where the JAG is located. The storage conditions, in art terms, can be compared in health terms to an amputation. Thakor explained that the rooms “lack the climate control and strict lighting protocols required to protect them”. Moreover, they are damp and some are hazardous. She emphasised that “if urgent and immediate steps are not taken to preserve the collection, irreparable harm will continue to be caused to the artworks due to the structural defects and the City of Johannesburg’s failure to discharge custodial responsibilities over them”.

Interior of the Johannesburg Art Gallery. Only two of 15 exhibition halls are fit for use. (Photo: Johannesburg Art Gallery)

During the inspection, it was found that the gallery’s building, designed by Edwin Lutyens, has persistent roof leaks that compromise its structural integrity. The basement has a rising damp problem due to improper drainage of a reflecting pool above, and the storage rooms are in a “perilous state”. The gallery in the basement, once an avant-garde and exciting space, was closed “due to safety risks, internal decay and debris, mould”, and is now hazardous.

The JAG’s priceless collection includes works by Pablo Picasso, Auguste Rodin, Claude Monet, Gerard Sekoto, Sydney Khumalo, Jacobus Pierneef, and William Kentridge.

“The JAG collection is thus one of indisputable heritage value and cultural significance,” says the letter to the mayor.

Urgent repairs

The two organisations are urging the mayor, who chairs the Art Gallery Committee, to review the governance of the JAG and approve a plan to move the artworks to safe storage while the gallery undergoes urgent repairs. They have proposed an interim plan to rehouse, restore, and digitise the collection at no cost to the City, which is currently facing financial difficulties.

“The interim solution is critical and must be implemented before the start of the summer rains, which are expected to begin in a month or less.”

A bronze artwork outside the Johannesburg Art Gallery. (Photo: Gallo Images)

The gallery’s decline has been ongoing. Since 2021, Johannesburg has had six mayors, each bringing changes to the governing mayoral committee. This frequent turnover has led to a lack of continuity, leaving the gallery’s issues unaddressed. The Friends of JAG and the Heritage Foundation had previously written to the then MMC for Community Development, Lubabalo Magwentshu, in June, but he was shuffled out when Morero was appointed in August, leaving the situation unresolved.

Read in Daily Maverick: Once vibrant Joburg Art Gallery is crumbling into ruin

Johannesburg Metro spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said the City had received the letter and was considering its contents.

“The City has always demonstrated a willingness to engage its stakeholders to find solutions. Our position with regard to JAG and the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation is no different. The two organisations came to the museum site visit with the intention to bring sponsors to the gallery who could support our efforts to restore it,” he said. DM

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Precariously stored

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