Showing Up: Why I Moved My Studio to the City

Creative Sparks, Community, and a New Chapter in Doornfontein

It’s been brewing for some time. I’ve always romanticised the idea of a New York-style loft studio—big windows, paint-splattered floors, a sense of possibility. But for the past few years, my studio has lived quietly in the suburbs. And recently, that quiet began to feel a little isolating.

This week, I made a bold move: I’ve taken up space at August House in Doornfontein—a building filled entirely with artist studios. Already, it feels like the kind of place where ideas percolate and creative energy is shared.

Of course, my burbs-based friends think I’ve lost it. The traffic! The schlep! The city! They're not wrong. But even with all that, it still feels right.

And when I read that the Marabi Club—a beautiful symbol of Johannesburg’s creative soul—is closing, it landed hard. We say we love these places, but do we show up for them? Do we support them? Or do we only mourn them once they’re gone?

Maybe Johannesburg isn’t dying. Maybe it’s just waiting—desperately—to be noticed.

This city isn’t easy to romanticise. But it is alive: with mess, with noise, with resilience, with hope. Renting a studio in the city feels like my small way of saying: I’m still in. I still believe.

Because cities don’t survive on nostalgia. They survive when people show up.

So this is me, showing up. And maybe, in your own way, this is your invitation to do the same.

There’s coffee. There’s light. There’s paint on the floor—and the start of something new.

Let’s see what we can grow here.

Studio visits are welcome. Get in touch if you’d like to pop by.