Interview: Vicki Ross on Building Culture, Community and Connection in Johannesburg
Johannesburg-based cultural curator and entrepreneur Vicki Ross has built a career at the intersection of creativity, business and place. Through her company, Andticks, she connects people, ideas and spaces to create experiences that feel intentional and human. We chatted with Vicki to talk about her career, her love for Joburg, and why the city may just hold the key to South Africa’s future.
On Career and Craft
A Cultural Curator and Entrepreneur, how do you describe what you do today, and how did you get into it?
I often find it difficult to describe what I do. For a long time, I called it “a bit of everything,” but I’ve come to understand it as cultural curation. My work sits at the intersection of business, creativity and place. I bring together people, ideas and spaces to create environments and experiences that feel intentional, connected and human.
I started my career in finance, which gave me a strong foundation in structure and strategy, but I was always drawn to creativity and community. Over time, I built small businesses, managed creative projects and worked in art and property development, each step teaching me how to bridge creative vision with commercial reality. Today, through my company Andticks, I focus on supporting creative entrepreneurs and shaping cultural spaces and events that tell meaningful stories. In practice, that includes running social media and newsletter marketing for spaces and brands, but only when I can align with the stories being told. I’m not a social media or communications agency.
Andticks, the pop-up concept store.
You have an incredible eye for talent and ideas. What do you look for when selecting artists, designers or brands for retail spaces?
Looking back, I realise I’ve always loved discovering new things and ideas. As a teenager, I collected interior magazines (and still have some from the 1990s). When blogs became popular in the 2000s, I spent hours exploring them and falling down countless rabbit holes. I still turn to social media for inspiration and have discovered so much through it, but I also feel the fatigue that comes from information overload and the sameness that often follows.
More and more, I’m drawn to integrity and substance: to people and brands that know who they are and make things with intention. It’s not about being shiny or picture-perfect online. I look for a strong point of view, quality of craft and a clear understanding of the story behind the work. I’m also interested in the connection between product and place, and how something fits into a broader ecosystem of design and culture. A brand or product may be beautifully made, well designed and even a best-seller, but if it sits in the wrong context, it won’t work. That nuance is often what’s missing when curating spaces, events or markets.
Collaboration matters too. I love working with people who are open, generous and see the value in building community rather than competition.
On Johannesburg...
Joburg often gets painted as gritty or chaotic, but there’s such creative energy pulsing beneath the surface. What do you think are the biggest misconceptions about the city?
That it’s all bling, grit or soulless strip malls; a place without depth or design. Those things exist, of course, but they sit alongside incredible texture, history and creativity. Johannesburg’s beauty is layered and often unexpected. Between its rough edges are spaces filled with ideas, small businesses and people who genuinely engage with one another.
At this time of year, when the jacarandas and bougainvillea are out and the weather is lovely, you’re reminded just how alive and generous the city can feel. It’s a place of contrast and connection, imperfect but human.
How does Joburg inform your personal sense of style, rhythm or perspective?
Like the city, I’m full of contradictions. The pace of my early career in finance gave me a sense of urgency and structure, while years of working in consumer-facing environments in Joburg have taught me to read people, to understand what they need and how they move through a space.
Then there’s the creative, entrepreneurial and very real side of Joburg, which constantly pushes me to think differently. My work has brought me into contact with people very different from those I would have met in banking. Colleagues, collaborators and everyday encounters inevitably shape you, and I hope that exposure has given me a deeper sense of perspective and a clearer awareness of my own privilege.
Style-wise, I spend a lot of time with incredible creatives, fashionistas and cool kids, and I’ve definitely been influenced by that world. It’s probably quite different to other parts of Joburg, but that mix of pace, perception and creative exposure has shaped both my rhythm and my eye.
Andticks at No.16, a nomadic retail concept.
Is there a particular moment or place in Joburg that perfectly captures its spirit for you?
There are many. One that comes to mind is from one of my early morning walks to a local coffee shop. On a single morning, I crossed paths with an old café regular, a jogger I recognised as a now well-established artist I’d once worked with as an intern at Turbine Art Fair, and a former employee a barista on his way to work.
Encounters like that happen all the time here. Joburg is one of the few cities where people still stop, talk and genuinely connect. It’s such a contrast to the don’t-look, don’t-greet cities of the world.
Another that stands out was a vinyl night I hosted at Andticks at Number 16. It came together last-minute after another plan fell through, but it turned into a perfect summer evening. There was a great line-up, a warm mix of people, and an atmosphere that felt open and spontaneous. It reminded me why I love this city, because even when things don’t go according to plan, Joburg has a way of showing up.
Johannesburg's jacaranda trees
On South Africa’s Future...
You’ve described Joburg as a microcosm of South Africa’s future. What do you mean by that?
I’m not sure that quote can be attributed to me, but I do tend to agree. Joburg reflects the country in many ways, its complexity, contradictions and capacity for reinvention. There are parts of the city that are fundamentally broken, and in that sense, it mirrors some of South Africa’s broader challenges.
But there’s also remarkable resilience here. People work together, create, and find ways to make things happen despite the circumstances. You see it in small businesses, cultural projects and neighbourhood initiatives that exist purely because people care enough to build something better. That mix of dysfunction and determination feels very South African to me (and oddly hopeful).
AndTicks event series
What lessons can the rest of the country (or even the world) learn from the way Joburgers build, hustle and create?
Joburg has always been a migrant city, a place people come to in search of opportunity, often starting with very little. That history has shaped its culture of hustle and resourcefulness. People here don’t wait for perfect conditions; they work with what they have and find ways to make things happen. It’s a city built on movement, ambition and adaptation, and that energy still runs through it.
The lesson, I think, is that innovation often comes from constraint rather than comfort. Joburgers have learned to work collectively, to cross disciplines and to turn frustration into action. There’s a determination to keep going, even when systems don’t work as they should. That mix of resilience, creativity and community-mindedness is something the rest of the country (and the world) could learn from.
Where do you see the most exciting shifts happening in South African culture and creativity right now?
Some of the most exciting shifts are happening at the intersections — where people from different disciplines and backgrounds are working together. There’s a growing confidence in local identity, paired with a willingness to experiment and challenge how things have been done.
I see it in the new generation of designers, makers and entrepreneurs building sustainable businesses that reflect both creativity and integrity.
Music is a great example. The global rise of South African sounds, from Amapiano to Black Coffee’s international success and the enduring influence of our house scene, shows how confidently our culture travels. It’s original, collaborative and constantly evolving.
Fashion is experiencing a similar moment. There’s a strong sense of self emerging, led by designers grounded in local narratives yet entirely contemporary in their expression. They’re not mimicking global trends but shaping their own, often in dialogue with craft, heritage and street culture.
A curation of local creations at Andticks
Quick Fire Round
Favourite Joburg street or neighbourhood right now?
I’m probably biased, but 44 Stanley still feels special to me. It captures so much of what I love about Joburg: it’s outdoors, pretty, independent-spirited and community-driven.
Beyond that, I have a soft spot for the Parks, leafy pockets of the city that feel more interesting to me than some of the suburbs further out. I think the new 9 Yards development opening in Parktown North will be a great addition.
44 Stanley
Johannesburg's Park Cafe
What should someone visiting Joburg for 48 hours do?
• 44 Stanley for shopping, cultural spaces and brunch or lunch. There’s nowhere else with the same mix of great-quality stores you won’t find elsewhere, all in a relaxed, leafy setting.
• A viewpoint stop to take in the city’s canopy, perhaps Westcliff or Munro Drive.
• Constitution Hill is essential for first-time visitors, and a Soweto tour gives valuable context to the city and its people.
• Art stops: Goodman, Stevenson and Everard Read, plus WAM and smaller spaces such as Kim Sacks, David Krut, Gallery 2, BKHZ, Bermann Contemporary and the soon-to-open Kumalo Turpin.
• A walk in a green space like The Wilds, best done with company.
• Dinner: one at Marble (or at least a drink at the bar), and one at Yeoville Dinner Club with Sanza Sandile. The contrast between the bougie and the gritty is pure Joburg, and Sanza’s storytelling and food are hard to match.
A quote, idea or philosophy you live by?
I hear or read new ideas all the time that resonate, but two stand out at the moment:
“Believe life is conspiring in your favour.” and “Giving a damn is a business strategy.”