There are some enticing new artworks out and about in Cape Town city centre in the form of mural pieces. Each offers its own kind of beauty to behold in the concrete jungle, touched by international and local street art talents.
The 2022 International Public Arts Festival (IPAF) took place from 23-27 February in Cape Town city centre and attracted major street artists from around the globe. With the poignant theme of ‘humanity’, the artworks shared consistent commentary around social connection and togetherness.
The IPAF murals form a fascinating ‘map’ of current issues and commentary from around the world, making them all the more thought-provoking beyond being praise bound. I always find myself struck by the particular talent of street artistry, and cannot help but linger whenever passing by these great big canvases, writes Cape {town} Etc’s Ashleigh Nefdt.
Without further ado, here are the walls from the IPAF 2022:
Produced by the world-renowned German urban artist, this mural pays homage to the people of Bo-Kaap. You can find it in Wale Street.
Smit is a South African fine artist, currently exhibiting locally and internationally. His piece above depicts the importance of humans and social connection.
Zavelea is a fine artist, muralist and co-founder of Prints on Paper from Mozambique. His mural is a tribute to the strength of South African women and seeks to demonstrate the link between gender-based violence and alcohol.
The ‘Your Best Shot’ mural urges all locals to choose to get vaccinated. It’s painted in partnership with Santam and Accelerate C
Artist: Little Jems, aka Jemma BortzLittle Jems is an up-and-coming artist residing in Johannesburg. Her mural focuses on common shared experiences amongst all humans and togetherness.
Mesa is a Spanish grafitti artist and ceramicist. His mural seeks to inspire us to reflect on human unity and depicts the world’s oldest pottery and ceramic artefacts used by the first humans.
Motelseven is a local artist who started their street art career in Cape Town. She is now exhibited around the world and her take on humanity is that we need to be in solace and reflection to find perspective on what it means to be human.
Psoman is a painter and graffiti artist from Belgium, who has works around the world. His mural is a call against speciesism and seeks to remind us that all humans are responsible for the protection of all life on earth.
Yessiow is an illustrator and mural artist from Bali. The mural is called “Listen” and shows how listening is crucial for a deeper human connection. Fletcher concludes, “It’s been another memorable IPAF, with street art once again acting as a beautiful, evocative catalyst for conversation. The calibre of the artists was outstanding. If you haven’t seen the ‘final walls’ in person, we urge you to do so by supporting one of our local tour guides! You can book a tour online, via our website, or download a map to wander through the works yourself.”
Festival organiser Lauren Fletcher says, “We are delighted with the success of this year’s IPAF. We were blown away by the concepts and diversity of the works, and the response from the public. Like last year, we used the festival to create awareness to raise awareness for incredible creative talent and to highlight Cape Town as an artistic hotspot. We are still offering guided and self-guided tours of the murals, with the aim to put money in our tour guides’ pockets, accelerate the recovery of the visitor economy, and increase footfall to town.”
Baz-Art co-founder, Alexandre Tilmans adds, “We are especially proud to be part of the ‘Your Best Shot’ initiative, in partnership with Santam and Accelerate Cape Town. This campaign includes six murals that spread a message to ‘get vaxxed’. The largest work can be found in the heart of the city, on the corner of Loop and Strand Street. Artists include Bushy Wopp, Mernette Swarts, Silas Ras Moetse, Wayne BKS (aka Conform) and Dekor One.”
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Picture: Case Maclaim, aka Andres Von Chrzanowski
