Johannesburg’s gritty suburbs on the eastern edge of downtown have long served as a home to the city’s creative community. The area declined in recent decades, but a new arts hub called Victoria Yards has put Lorentzville and the surrounding suburbs of New Doornfontein, Troyeville, and Bertrams back on the creative map. Victoria Yards’ official opening took place on 1 September 2018.
Three years ago Victoria Yards, at the corner of Victoria Road and Viljoen Street, was a cluster of decaying buildings partially occupied by furniture-makers, metalworkers, and auto repair shops. In 2017, Group 44’s Brian Green, together with a group of investors, purchased the buildings and created a plan to develop the property in a way that would rejuvenate the area without gentrifying it. “When I walked down here for the first time, I looked at this place…I saw it was quite a buzzing little community, and it was this massive, old bunch of buildings that were decrepit and dilapidated…I just see such beauty in this stuff.”
Brian and his team began filling the complex’s derelict spaces with galleries, artist studios, and cafés. Although the soil appeared dry and damaged beyond repair, a team of landscape designers and local gardeners worked to transform the ground around the buildings into an urban garden.
Today several of the original light industry businesses remain, co-existing with the new tenants – artists, printers, jewelry-makers, micro-brewers, bakers, and galleries. New restaurants, shops, and workspaces continue to move in all the time. The plants have taken hold, providing an edible green landscape of spinach, squashes, fruits, and edible flowers.
Victoria Yards is open from Monday to Friday from 9 am to 5 pm and Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm; Victoria Yards artists hold a popular open studio event on the first Sunday of every month.
