Zeitz MOCAA Guide: Contemporary Art in the Grain Silo

For decades the Grain Silo Complex at the V&A Waterfront was an industrial relic: 42 tightly packed concrete tubes that once stored maize from across South Africa before loading it onto ships, and the tallest building in sub-Saharan Africa when it opened in 1924. When British designer Thomas Heatherwick was asked to turn it into the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), the problem was obvious: there was no open space inside, just narrow vertical cylinders.

Inside the carved concrete tubes

Heatherwick's solution was to carve a giant three-dimensional grain of corn out of the middle of the cellular concrete tubes. Stepping into the central atrium today reveals the scale of the original industrial structure. Cut edges of the towering cylinders curve overhead, topped by thick pillows of laminated glass that form the floor of the rooftop sculpture garden above. Two glass lifts glide up and down the tubes while spiral staircases wind down to the lower tunnels.

How to approach the galleries

Across more than eighty gallery spaces on six floors, the museum shows rotating temporary exhibitions alongside permanent holdings of 21st-century painting, photography, textile art, sculpture and video installation from across Africa and its diaspora.

• Start at the top and work down: take the glass lift straight to Level 6 for the rooftop sculpture garden and its views across the working docks to Table Mountain, then walk down floor by floor.
• Allow at least two hours: the video and sound installations in the lower-level tunnels are often the most powerful works in the building, and rushing through in 45 minutes only shows you the architecture.
• Audio guides: bring headphones and your smartphone to use the museum's free audio commentary, which gives rich context on the artists and political themes behind each curatorial show.

Tickets and timing

The museum is a prime rainy-day or high-wind backup when the cable car and ferries are closed, which also means it gets busiest on grey mornings. Check the official Zeitz MOCAA website for current opening days and hours before you go. African citizens receive free entry on Wednesday mornings with ID, and under-18s enter free every day. Afterwards, walk two minutes across the Silo District square to the Watershed craft market or grab lunch by the dry dock.