Johannesburg is much maligned as a dangerous gangster town and and a ghetto but, truth be told, it’s no worse than the ghettos in any other city in the world.  Parts of the Johannesburg CBD (Central Business District) have been undergoing regeneration and re-invention and at the heart of this upliftment is Newtown, situated west of central Johannesburg.  Newtown is home to the Market Theatre, Museum Africa, trendy nightclubs and restaurants and some of the best graffiti this side of LA.

We took a trip down to Newtown on Saturday night, under the gigantic bridge that is the M1 motorway, and stumbled across a treasure chest of graffiti.  The sheer skill and creativity of the artists took our breath away and, with fellow members of the Joburg Photowalkers Group, we attempted to capture some of the beauty and sheer size of the graffiti on show.

From political and social statements, to scenes from everyday Johannesburg, to reliving the sheer joy of the 2010 World Cup, we saw it all.  Here are just a few of our favourite examples.  We hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

View from afar under the M1 bridge, Newtown, Johannesburg

World Cup South Africa 2010

And Africa was indeed a winner

Germany vs Argentina world cup

One of the classic 2010 World Cup games

Fish graffiti

My, what big teeth you have

Johannesburg graffiti

Yes, sometimes it is

face graffiti

Amazing detail and shading in this face

Graffiti johannesburg

African slang for "It's all good"

Antwoord graffiti

Answer the phone

taxi lady graffiti

Hailing a taxi in Johannesburg

graffiti

Schizophrenia

Prophet healer

Behold the prophet...a dime a dozen in JHB

Johannesburg at dusk
Newtown street at dusk

And if that’s not enough for you, be sure to check out the rest of the pictures on Flickr!