Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
fridaylatest news & developments
Mandy Johnston’s latest exhibition uses burning steel wool sculptures and ash paintings to explore ritual, transformation and the transitions that shape our lives

Mandy Johnston wants to burn things to bring back traditions

The Joburg-born artist’s latest exhibition uses burning steel wool sculptures and ash paintings to explore ritual, transformation and the transitions that shape our lives

In the Grey feels like the sort of anonymous streaming-era action thriller that would quietly appear on Netflix one Friday afternoon and be forgotten by Monday morning.

Guy Ritchie’s ‘In The Grey’ is all plan and no personality

The legendary director’s latest thriller boasts a strong cast and explosive finale but lacks the colourful characters and charm that defined his best work

Through interviews and behind-the-scenes discussions, Spotlight Theatre Talk explores the people and processes that bring productions to life

Joburg Theatre launches podcast to take audiences behind the curtain

Through interviews and behind-the-scenes discussions, Spotlight Theatre Talk explores the people and processes that bring productions to life

Long-time coming: More than a decade into both their careers, Tellaman and Nasty C are releasing a joint album. Photos: Supplied

Nasty C and Tellaman have terms and conditions

On fame, friendship and a long-overdue joint album, Nasty C and Tellaman are exactly where they want to be

At the centre of it all: Caterina Bollini, whose relationship with food is
deeply intertwined with family, history and community.

More than a restaurant, Tortellino d’Oro is a story about belonging

From fresh handmade pasta and honest Italian cooking to generations of family history, Tortellino d’Oro’s new Oaklands home proves that the best meals are the ones shared

Inspired: Sibo Mhlungu, Aline Media Group founder, wants to create an
experience at the event for people to remember. Photo: Supplied

The Ascots promises a world-class Durban July experience — but is it Worth the Price of Entry?

Other marquees at the Durban July offer premium packages at significantly lower price points. What does The Ascots offer that they don’t?

Outdoor art: Mankebe Seakgoe’s When the Sky Opened Up and Swallowed us Whole (2023), charcoal on canvas.
Photos: Supplied

Outside the white cube, art learns to breathe again

A group exhibition in North West challenged institutional norms, inviting artists and audiences to rethink experimentation, community and artistic freedom

Psychological terror: Michael Johnston and Inde Navarette in Obsession. Photos: Supplied

Could these twenty-something YouTubers be the future of cinema?

A wave of YouTuber-turned box-office-record-breaking horror auteurs have Hollywood nervous and rethinking the filmmaking playbook

Cultural mix: Superstar mixes MetroBeatz RSA’s Tsonga and Xigaza
influences with Lowfeye’s inspired sound. Photo: Supplied

Gig Guide: MetroBeatz RSA drops Superstar, AMURA and ANTHM one-night-only dining experience and Disney On Ice returns to South Africa

Your essential dose of art and culture

Two-time Grammy winner Peabo Bryson, whose voice graced Disney classics and R&B charts for five decades, has died after a stroke

Peabo Bryson, the voice behind Disney’s greatest love songs, dies at 75

Two-time Grammy winner Peabo Bryson, whose voice graced Disney classics and R&B charts for five decades, has died after a stroke

Young South African designers are invited to create a signature lighting piece for Nando’s restaurants worldwide and accelerate their careers

Youth Day deadline set for Nando’s Hot Young Designer 2026 competition

Young South African designers are invited to create a signature lighting piece for Nando’s restaurants worldwide and accelerate their careers

Nduduzo Makhathini
is not playing alone

Nduduzo Makhathini is not playing alone

From John Coltrane’s centenary to the O2 Arena with Black Coffee, Nduduzo Makhathini’s recent world tour was a masterclass in the cyclical, intergenerational nature of black music

Polished: The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro remains
one of Côte d’Ivoire’s most recognisable architectural landmarks. the town’s deep
cultural and historical significance. Photo:  Wendy Mosetlhi

Côte d’Ivoire is more than a stopover. It’s a story you travel through

A seven-day journey across Côte d’Ivoire reveals cocoa towns, coastal escapes, living history and cultural traditions carried carefully across generations

Migrating Homes — Gateways of Our Conventional World by Kibera Arts District. Photo: Anthea Pokroy

‘Atlas of Uncertainty’ reimagines the African city through art and flux

A sprawling exhibition at the Origins Centre challenges colonial narratives and reframes African cities as spaces of resilience, creativity and constant transformation

Intentional: Sbahle is building the soundtrack for romance. Photo: Supplied

Gig Guide: Sbahle releases Some More, Erin Elliot enters her “Unhinged” era and Rivoningo releases Xikwembu Xa Tintswalo

Sbahle calls in Afro-Soul royalty for ‘Some More’ Love is loud, dramatic and beautifully vulnerable on Sbahle’s new single Some More, a soulful collaboration featuring Afro-soul…

Nostalgia: The fair itself carried that familiar warmth, such as readers walking slowly between stalls. Photos: Supplied

In a world built for scrolling, can book fairs still survive?

A quiet conversation at the Kingsmead Book Fair became a reflection on shrinking attention spans, digital culture and the fragile future of reading

Nine Yards is not trying to reinvent Rosebank. If anything, it understands exactly what makes the area seductive.

Nine Yards is reimagining slow living in Joburg

A lush, all-in-one Rosebank precinct where food, art, fashion and green space come together to turn everyday city life into a slow, walkable experience

South African rapper, producer and musical artist, Sam Turpin

Sam Turpin’s notes on grief

The legacy of photographer Gisèle Wulfsohn echoes through her son’s music as Sam Turpin confronts sorrow through art

There will not be another Maria McCloy

Those who loved her remember a woman who gave everything — to her art, to her city, and to every person lucky enough to have her in their corner

Loving memory: Maria McCloy was someone who made
Johannesburg feel possible. Someone who gathered people across
class, art, music, fashion and politics and convinced them that
beauty, style and radical care belonged together.

Maria McCloy made Johannesburg feel possible

Friends, creatives and a city in mourning gathered to celebrate the woman who helped shape how Johannesburg saw itself after 1994.