Eye Candy (Part 3)

Yesterday we arrived in Johannesburg. We’re staying with some old friends from Washington DC – Ananthy Thambinayagam and Dharma Sears – that we haven’t seen in more than a decade. 

Weekend markets in South African urban neighbourhoods are atracting a lot of visitors, and for good reason.  They have delicious food, lots of young families, great people-watching. We visited City Bowl Market in Capetown a couple of times; it reminded us of some of the markets back home in Toronto.

Ananthy and Dharma took us to Maboneng Precinct today to visit the Sunday Arts on Main Market. Very funky and diverse, it is a similar community event to neighborgoods. Maboneng used to be run-down and is now undergoing something of a revitalization; Arts on Main is clearly part of that renewal.  Here is how Lonely Planet describes it:

The Inner City itself, once a no-go zone, is becoming a tourist gem, with plenty of pleasant surprises. Oh, and there’s Maboneng. On the eastern fringes of the Inner City, this hipster-friendly urban neighbourhood is considered as one of the most successful urban-renewal projects in the world – it’s sure to seduce you.

There is also a lot of beautiful street art and graffiti. Here are some shots.

In the middle of it all were some kids performing on a corner. Three guitars, one of them connected to an amp and speaker.  Check it out.