5 minute read
On the Wall
from Clout 2022
by Clout
As part of an initiative by House Union Block, Cape Town’s artists and artisans are putting their mark on the city
TEXT MALIBONGWE TYILO PHOTOGRAPHS SUPPLIED
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If you take moment and look up as you walk past
the unmissable cobalt blue Union House building on Cape Town’s Commercial Street, somewhat nestled between the Parliament buildings on one end of the street and the Cape Town police station on the other, you might spot the relatively small yet striking mosaic artwork that depicts a flower, which simultaneously seems to resemble a human figure, bent over carrying a sphere that represents our planet on their back. Made up of tiles in shades of blue, red, green and other colours, it is no taller that 50 centimetres and no wider than a 30-centimetre ruler.
Should you walk another kilometre further into the city and find yourself on Bree Street in front of the entrance to the Cape Heritage Hotel, you’ll be in for another similarly sized artful surprise when you look up above its door. This time around, the mosaic tiles depict a bird in flight.
Unveiled in May this year, the two pieces are interpretations of artworks from Cape Town artists Kilmany-Jo Liversage and Robyn Pretorius, respectively. Both were made in collaboration with graduate artisans from the Spier Arts Academy as part of Guerilla Mosaic Bombing, a long-term public art project initiated by House Union Block (HUB), the commercial arm of the Spier Arts Trust. The trust provides artists with commercial opportunities through non-traditional gallery spaces, such as interdisciplinary collaborations with interior designers, furniture and lighting designers, as well as architects.
The two artworks are just the beginning of the project which, in its first phase, will see eight Cape Town artists collaborate with 15 graduate artisans from the Spier Arts Academy to create various pieces of public art in mosaic tiles.
“Public art can be a sort of equaliser, an experience that all of us can access while walking on the street. There is a body of research that shows that in places where there's public art, there is a greater sense of community. Businesses and constituents tend to pull together to make sure that the environment is safe,” says Mirna Wessels, CEO of the Spier Arts Trust and HUB. “The idea actually came from our partner on the project, Victoria Engelhorn, who is a director at Habitus [the Cape Town-based sustainable city development specialists]. She's very passionate
Mosaics showing the work of Kilmany Jo Liversage grace walls in Cape Town's inner city
about regenerating the city of Cape Town and promoting walking tourism — making sure that the city is a safe place for locals, for businesses, as well as tourists,” says Mirna, explaining that Victoria was inspired by the public art interventions she has seen on her travels.
In addition to Robyn and Kilmany-Jo’s pieces, other confirmed artists whose work will soon adorn the city’s walls are: Adolf Tafadzwa Tega, Fanie Buys, Oivié Keck, Meshack “Shakes” Tembani, Xolile Mtakatya and Wonder Marthinus.
Each of the images that will be translated into mosaic will be taken from larger existing painted works by the artists. ‘It’s imagery that is very much associated with the individual practices. It’s a single element from a painting or a work by an artist — be it Robyn’s birds, or Shakes’ ‘everyday people’, or Xolile’s beautiful abstract figures. It talks to contemporary SA society, it talks to the artist’s actual practice and it presents an opportunity for the public to get to know them better while also stimulating tourism, beautifying the city and stimulating opportunities for small businesses’ — Mirna Wessels, Spier Arts Trust
For each of the pieces, the team will put a QR code near the work, so that anyone who wants more information, can access it.
The plan is to steadily grow the project through sales, by offering the artworks to the city’s businesses and property owners. By chance, Mirna also heard about the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture’s Mzansi Golden Economy grant. They applied — and eventually received R250 000 in funding, allowing them kick off the project by helping to pay the artists’ fees and for the artisans’ labour as well as covering project management fees.
But for the project to grow to the scale the HUB and Habitus teams envision, they still need to raise much more funding. So they’re continuing with their initial plan to canvas support from the city’s businesses by offering to sell the artworks to companies for prices between R12 000 and R18 000. The team is also looking to engage an app developer to create a “basic app” that can be used to explore the locations of the mosaics and encourage users to walk the city to view the complete collection.
The project has already received support from businesses such as Nando’s, Worldart Gallery and the Cape Heritage Hotel, all of which have committed to buying mosaics for their respective city buildings.
“The idea is to sell the artworks to the landlords, or to the tenants with permission from their landlords as well as from the City of Cape Town,” explains Mirna. “The funds from the sales will then allow us to engage with more artists in addition to the initial eight. In this way, we can grow the map and expand the locations we cover.” o
