Art for the people

PHOTOS: Jonx Pillemer and Jeremy Puren

Do you love South Africa? Do you love art? Then you’ll love this project, which is about both.

The Adidas All Originals I ART SA community mural project, curated by A WORD OF ART and launched at the recent Toffie Popular Culture Festival in Cape Town, aims to express two South African communities’ passion for creativity and originality. The project is run in collaboration with Adidas Originals, and kicked off in Woodstock and Soweto earlier this year.

“The idea is simple: we want to promote and celebrate local artists, mural art and the original culture within the communities we interact in,” notes curator Ricky Lee Gordon.

Thirteen artists have been selected and assigned one wall per venue in either Woodstock or Soweto. To ensure a sincere and soft interaction with the residents and the community, the painting of each venue took place over three days, with the general public acting as spectators. The process was documented through video and stills, culminating in an exhibition held at the Cape Town City Hall.

The two locations were chosen because, according to Gordon, both Woodstock and Soweto are communities bursting with untapped creativity. “These communities get a lot of bad press, but the truth is that these are beautiful areas with a rich history and inspiring people… Kids play in the street and neighbours actually know each other’s names. There’s a real street culture.”

I ART SA hopes to bring some positive attention, energy and colour to these areas through the art. Participating artists are 35-ten-73, Alexia Webster and Mikey Saal (Pavement Special), Black Koki, Boamistura (Madrid), Dathini Mzanyiya, Freddy Sam, Fuzzy Slippers, Jeremy Puren, Jonx Pillemer, Linsey Levendall of Bison, Paul Senyol, Rowan Pybus @makulu and Xanele.

The team from I ART SA hops that this endeavour will lead to similar projects around the world.

Join the Woodstock community for a market and braai on Saturday, 9 April, to celebrate the project. This will be an opportunity to see the walls and meet the artists and locals involved. 10am -3pm, cnr Page and Cornwall off Albert Rd, Woodstock, Cape Town.

See map here: http://www.i-art-sa-project.com/murals/map-i-art-woodstock-cape-town/

More information: www.i-art-sa-project.com