In a move to re-imagine public engagement with contemporary African art, Standard Bank has officially launched The Standard Bank Art Lab, a new visual arts space at Nelson Mandela Square.

• The venue is designed as a dynamic platform for collaboration, experimentation, and creative exploration.
• The Art Lab, which opened its doors to the public this month, is the latest addition to Standard Bank’s long-standing arts portfolio.
• Positioned in Sandton, the space seeks to foster meaningful interaction with art by blurring the lines between audience and artist, and between commerce and culture.
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The newly launched space, housed at Shop 33-34 of Nelson Mandela Square, is described as a site of artistic intersection — a space where visual art engages with fashion, music, movement, and digital storytelling. More than just a gallery, the Art Lab positions itself as a ‘hub for creative economies and a site for spontaneous cultural exchange’.

For over four decades, Standard Bank has proudly supported the arts, a commitment deeply rooted in our purpose: ‘Africa is our home, we drive her growth. The launch of the Standard Bank Art Lab marks an exciting extension of our arts portfolio – which includes the Standard Bank Gallery, the Corporate Art Collection, the Standard Bank African Art Collection with Wits Art Museum, the National Arts Festival, and the Standard Bank Young Artists Awards.

// Standard Bank’s Group Chief Operating Officer, Margaret Nienaber

The inaugural exhibition, “Follow the Blue Thread: It’s Woven Into Who We Are” pays tribute to the transformative power of African art through the medium of tapestry. The theme draws a symbolic line between Standard Bank’s early history and its current cultural
initiatives. Founded in 1862 to support the booming wool trade of the Eastern Cape, the bank’s origins are intimately tied to the textile economy. Today, that legacy finds new expression through woven artworks that link craft, commerce, and culture.

The exhibition features textile-based works by celebrated South African artists including Penny Siopis, Judith Mason, Sam Nhlengethwa, William Kentridge, and Miriam Ndebele. Collaborating with master weavers, these artists have re-imagined pieces from Standard Bank’s corporate collection as tapestries woven from mohair – a tactile and distinctly African reinterpretation of visual storytelling.

According to Dr Same Mdluli, Standard Bank Curator and Gallery Manager, the goal is to activate the corporate collection as a living resource, rather than treat it as a static archive.

This exhibition asks important questions: What cultural memory do collections preserve? Whose stories do they tell? And how might they contribute to the creative economies of tomorrow?

// Standard Bank Curator and Gallery Manager, Dr Same Mdluli

In line with this philosophy, The Art Lab is intended to be accessible and inviting, with free entry and public opening hours designed to accommodate casual visitors and art enthusiasts alike. The space is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm, and on Sundays and public holidays from 9am to 1pm.

The gallery’s presence in a high-traffic commercial area is a deliberate strategy. It enables exposure to a wider audience – many of whom may not frequent traditional galleries – and encourages unexpected moments of engagement. The location also reflects Standard Bank’s broader vision of integrating artistic dialogue into everyday life.

By placing The Art Lab in a space like Nelson Mandela Square, we’re inviting new audiences to interact with art in their own environments – where they shop, work, and socialise. It’s a space that values curiosity over convention and community over exclusivity.

// Standard Bank’s Group Chief Operating Officer, Margaret Nienaber

The project also signals Standard Bank’s continued investment in the creative economy, as well as its commitment to the evolving role of business in shaping cultural narratives. The Art Lab forms part of the Liberty2Degrees property portfolio, further reinforcing the link between commercial infrastructure and cultural development.

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