Hop on, hop off, see Jozi's art

A Johannesburg entrepreneur centres the city's art spaces on his tours for the 'culturally curious'

- By Bridget Hilton-Barber

Thabo Modise (right) during a guided art tour to a gallery.

(Photos: Bridget Hilton-Barber)

There's a sign inside Museum Afrika in Newtown that says, "I'm a remarkable piece of art, adore me". It could well apply to the delightful Thabo Modise, aka Thabo the Tourist. He's unmistakable, a head and shoulders above the rest of us, and has the funkiest hairstyle.

Modise is an “art concierge” who takes guided tours all over Johannesburg and Soweto. “I’m using tours to sell art,” he says. To date, his company Toura Travel Therapy has facilitated more than 300 art tours “for the culturally curious”.

We meet outside the Circa Gallery in Rosebank, home to the famous Keyes Art Precinct, which links a series of contemporary and established galleries in the street and surrounding 'hood.