Joburg's Public Art: The Stories Behind the Sculptures

Johannesburg’s streets are alive with art. Beyond gallery walls, sculptures and installations tell stories of resilience, culture, and community. Designing your own art tour is one of the best ways to see the city from a fresh perspective.

Albertina and Walter Sisulu

 

Created in 2009 by Marina Walsh, this 2.7‑tonne clay sculpture shows Albertina and Walter Sisulu holding hands. It commemorates their enduring love for each other and their nation. Walter spent 25 years imprisoned on Robben Island, while Albertina was admired for her compassion and activism for children, women, and the elderly.

 

• Find it: Intersection of Diagonal, Ntemi Piliso, and Albertina Sisulu Streets, City Centre

Angel of the North

 

Standing five metres tall near Constitution Hill, Winston Luthuli’s concrete angel was installed in 2010. With outstretched arms, it recalls Rio’s Christ the Redeemer, serving as a sentinel in Hillbrow. Angels, present in many cultures, symbolise protection and higher states of being.

 

• Find it: Corner of Queens and Kotze Streets, Hillbrow

Brenda Fassie

 

Angus Taylor’s bronze sculpture of Brenda Fassie, commissioned in 2006, captures the energy of South Africa’s original pop idol. Known as MaBrrr, she defied convention and became a township superstar with hits like Weekend Special. Time Magazine once called her “the Madonna of the townships.”

 

• Find it: 56 Margaret Mcingana Street, Market Theatre precinct, Newtown

Eland

 

Clive van den Berg’s 2007 sculpture of a giant buck greets visitors to Braamfontein. Aloe planters surround the eland, symbolising San ancestors and the natural environment that once thrived here. It invites reflection on the city’s past and our connection to cultural and spiritual destinies.

 

• Find it: Corner of Bertha and Ameshoff Streets, Braamfontein

Fire Walker

 

William Kentridge and Gerhard Marx’s 11‑metre‑high sculpture from 2009 depicts women carrying lit braziers on their heads, selling food along Diagonal Street. Made of fractured metal pieces, it shifts as you move around it. The location near Queen Elizabeth Bridge makes viewing tricky, a slow drive past is best.

 

• Find it: Corner of Simmonds and Sauer Streets, City Centre

Mohandas Gandhi

 

At Gandhi Square, Tinka Christopher’s 2.5‑metre bronze statue shows a young Gandhi as a lawyer, gown draped over his suit. Gandhi worked here in the early 1900s, developing his philosophy of passive resistance, Satyagraha, before returning to India in 1914.

 

• Find it: Gandhi Square, City Centre

 

Newtown Heads

 

Hundreds of carved wooden heads mounted on concrete bollards line Mary Fitzgerald Square. Together they create a striking atmosphere in one of Joburg’s most culturally significant public spaces, reflecting the diversity and energy of the city.

 

• Find it: Mary Fitzgerald Square, Newtown

 

Joburg’s public art turns the city into an open‑air gallery. Each sculpture carries history and meaning, inviting you to pause and see the streets differently, as places where culture, memory, and everyday life meet.