Grand Opening 223 Jan Smuts

Saturday, 25 November 2023

The Grand Opening of 223 Jan Smuts was an unmissable fusion of music, delectable bites, refreshments, and vibrant local and international designers.

223 Jan Smuts, aims to cultivate a dynamic ecosystem where artists, designers, and creative minds come together to intersect and collaborate. This synergy serves as a fertile ground for cultivating fresh ideas, fostering cross-disciplinary projects, and encouraging a rich exchange of perspectives.

Bringing together BERMAN CONTEMPORARY, CANDICE BERMAN GALLERY, OASA, THE CREATORY, MAGICODE | USM, ROMARIA, SOMETHING GOOD STUDIOS and FRAMING@223.

Welcome to the creative hub.

Almost a century ago, one of our country’s most prominent statesmen coined a term and established an ideology that echoed the essence of what we now understand as ubuntu. That ideology is holism, a perspective which recognises that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the statesman was Jan Smuts, who is commemorated in the name of the road we’re on, and this innovative hub of creativity and art that we are so excited to share with you today.

Welcome to the grand opening of 223 Jan Smuts, a creation that grew out of a shared vision for a space where artists and artisans can collaborate and inspire one another, and where afficionados and appreciators of art and artisanal craft can converge. In creating this space, we have stepped into a composite system that carries its own structure, function and character. It is no longer only an amalgamation of individuals, it is a whole, and as such, greater than the individual creative energies that comprise it.

Once a holistic creature such as this is set free in the world, the world around it starts to change; the experiential field of the whole continues beyond its physical borders, breaking boundaries, freeing thoughts and accelerating action. By joining us today, you are an integral part of this evolution, infusing our space, our artists and the full complement of 223 with your precious attention, your enthusiasm and a collective momentum into the future.

If you haven’t done so yet, take time today to wander through and engage with the various areas here. From the Candice Berman Gallery and Berman Contemporary, where we exhibit an incisive selection of provocative South African contemporary art, to Magicode, our modular furniture component, Something Good, our textile studio, and Romaria, our in-house fashion and lifestyle collective, we hope that your experience here will be immersive and stimulating.

Odette Graskie is the first artist occupying The Creatory Art Lab, and our rotating display in Open Art SA currently shows the first iteration of quarterly exhibitions that will be housed there. Finally, we offer professional framing services to preserve and present the pieces you acquire with the greatest care and to the highest standards.

Thank you for being here today. Thank you especially to the remarkable team that has been working tirelessly to conjure this revolutionary space into existence. As the ideology of holism states, the whole is in the parts and the parts are in the whole, and as such, the influence, the inspiration, the energy that we are invoking here today will return to us magnified. Thank you again, and enjoy your dance with the whole.

– Candice Berman

Gallery Director