Windybrow Playhouse was built in 1896 by one of the early South African Mining Engineers, as a family home. It was declared a National Monument in 1996 and as a Cultural Institution in April 2005 by the Department of Arts and Culture. As an Arts Centre its history spans almost twenty years. Windybrow is regarded as an incubator for the development of high quality performance artists and productions that are inspired by Africa and its rich diversity of cultural forms. Its mission is to facilitate cultural exchange between theatres and theatre practitioners in South Africa and those from other parts of Africa. In this context it serves as an artistic point of contact.