Museum Africa

Why go

The museum’s social and cultural focus offers a different perspective from Johannesburg’s individual house museums and monuments. Its collecting history reaches across African material culture, while its Newtown setting connects the institution to the city’s everyday commercial life. The building itself remains a substantial part of that story.

What to look for

• The former market building stands opposite the Market Theatre.
• The institution’s subjects include Johannesburg’s social, political and cultural history.

The full story

The museum began in 1933 when Johannesburg Public Library acquired African material culture and books from John Gaspard Gubbins. Its collecting interests expanded from the mid-1930s to encompass a wider range of African cultural history. That background explains why the institution’s story reaches beyond Johannesburg, even though its building is firmly rooted in the city’s own history. In 1994, the museum was refurbished and renamed Museum Africa as South Africa entered democratic government. The change brought a new identity to an institution previously known as the Africana Museum. Its home adds another historical layer: the city’s fruit and vegetable market, built in 1913. The contrast between a market’s original commercial purpose and the museum’s social and cultural remit helps explain Newtown’s changing role. The building is part of the experience, alongside any galleries available during your visit.

Useful to know

• Contact the museum to confirm public access and which galleries can be visited.
• Pair the building with the Market Theatre area, checking each venue separately.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.