Joan Martin is an artist and high school art teacher who lives in Durban on the tropical east coast of South Africa. 

Joan Martin works predominantly in mixed media and her attitude to art-making has been described as “reflecting intense curiosity and creative courage”. She often subverts her own process by consciously using tools that she can’t control or by splashing materials over her work that can potentially destroy the image.

Experimentation and making marks is what drive her artistic journey. She believes that too many people see art as a product instead of an experience. She includes experimentation and “play” in both her own art and in her teaching and claims that if you are not prepared to make mistakes you won’t learn. 

Joan Martin has been involved in group exhibitions in her own country and Internationally (USA, Canada, and France) 

Various local art studios and galleries have invited her to run adult workshops and present talks about art. She has taught online art lessons for various art associations since 2018. She has also assisted as a curator for various local art galleries.