NEW IN THE CITY Ah, summer in Windhoek. The sun is infernal, the beers are arctic and the mosquitoes are plotting. Yet as we make our scorched but cautious return to public places (preferably with patios), the city – God bless her – feels fresh with a few sweet surprises. While it’s not an exhaustive list and there are surely things I’ve missed, here’s what’s new in the city. THE WINDHOEK MURAL PROJECT
Photography credit: Martha Mukaiwa
The city centre is a place of hasty hustle but if you’re missioning down Fidel Castro or Werner List Street in the vicinity of the College of the Arts, The Windhoek Mural Project is bound to halt your hurry. Founded by the ENK Institute for Public Art in collaboration with Bonlife Namibia and Neo Paints, the project will feature five Namibian artists painting a series of murals in and around the city. First off the mark from a cohort that includes artists Michelle Isaak, Taanyanda Matheus, Edith Wasserfall and John Kalunda are two murals by Nambowa Malua. African Women is a bright ode to the continent’s tireless and uplifting mothers, sisters and daughters. Contrast of Two Plains is a tribute to the Ovahimba people and an appreciation of Namibia’s contrasting landscape with psychedelic elements symbolic of shifting realities and the country’s growing appreciation of creativity. “People are affected by what they experience in their towns and cities. We therefore believe public art has a unique ability to give Namibians a better feel for their environment,” says the ENK Institute for Public Art’s founder Emmanuel Enkara. “I think you get the ‘feel’ of a country from the art it produces. Food, dress, music, visual art and film form our national identity. Before #Vision2030 is achieved, we need to give visual artists the chance to build our country and to tell contemporary stories through public art.” The ENK Institute for Public Art also aims to empower artists through project-based income streams while encouraging tourism through the enlivening of our towns and cities. Public art is even more vital during a pandemic. “One thing that has happened during the pandemic is that people have turned to jogging and walking,” says Enkara. “Public art can be that exciting addition to everybody’s day when the world feels like such a bad place right now”.
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