AFRICAN COMMUNITIES
Restoration project lifts grand old theatre complex in Joburg
Heritage specialists restore and modernise the 120-year-old Windybrow Centre of the Arts, writes Edward Tsumele
Her strides are firm and confident as she walks around the iconic building in central Johannesburg that is home to the Windybrow Centre of the Arts. "Most of its features are now restored and it maintains its original aesthetic appeal as the architects and heritage specialists have been engaged in the revamp of this building to modernise it, but at the same time keeping it as original as possible," says Keituletse Gwangwa, the newly appointed head of the centre. The building is undergoing renovations costing tens of millions of rand. It is aimed at restoring its former structural glory and its dignity, which have been lost over the years through plunder and bad management. The building is more than 120 years old and one of the few examples of 19th-century architecture in Johannesburg. It is hoped that the centre will again become a space that will make the dreams of many artists living in and around the densely populated flatlands of Hillbrow, Berea, Yeoville and the inner city beco...
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