For several countries around the world, the wearing of face masks is commonplace, but South Africans are still adjusting. As a pleasant yet present reminder to mask up when in public, murals have been installed in parts of Stellenbosch.
Five public art installations called the ‘Masked Masterpieces’ have been installed at various locations across Stellenbosch. These unique installations feature portraits done by famous South African artists and encourage passersby to wear masks in public.
Featured alongside the installations are Snapscan contribution codes that can be used to donate towards the Stellenbosch University COVID-19 bursary fund to support art students.
Stellenbosch Mayor Gesie van Deventer visited some of the installations herself this week.
Welcome to Stellenbosch, South African superstar artist Zanele Mahole!
From Friday, exciting artworks will be displayed at a number of sites around the town. Aptly named – Masked Masterpieces. #MaskedMasterpieces #Stellenbosch #University #Charity #Art pic.twitter.com/WoCAwiV8fZ— Stellenbosch Visio (@SboschVisio) August 5, 2020
Have you seen the 5 beautiful public art installations across #Stellenbosch? The public can make a Snapscan contribution to the @StellenboschUni COVID-19 bursary fund to support student artists. Mayor van Deventer tried it out herself. #MaskedMasterpieces #WearAMask pic.twitter.com/G1njnlkS3p
— Stellenbosch Municipality (@StellMun) August 12, 2020
#MaskedMasterpieces: Stellenbosch will soon be the scene of a uniquely South African art response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of this initiative, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences bursary students at SU, in the ‘missing middle’ category, are set to benefit. pic.twitter.com/YRH9iSmtpW
— Stellenbosch_Alumni (@SU_Alumni) August 6, 2020
The installations fall in line with the University’s awareness campaign for wearing masks.
“Mask wearing is not just about protecting yourself. It is also about protecting others, about being a responsible citizen and about looking out for those most at risk of serious consequences from COVID-19,” said Professor Stan du Plessis, Institutional Committee for Business Continuity Chair at Stellenbosch University (SU).
The campaign extends across campus and includes cute reminders like trees along Victoria Street donning masks as a reminder.
Pictures: Facebook/Stellenbosch University/Stellenbosch Municipality/Henk Oets
