During the time of the FIFA world cup frenzy
in June 2010, the city of Durban acquired a
beautiful new mural painting on the wall of
the municipal library buildings in Mathews
Meyiwa Street.
Entitled “Prosperity” and funded by the
Development Bank of Southern Africa, the
mural is one of a national series on the
theme of “A prosperous and integrated region
progressively free of poverty and
dependency”. The project manager is Prof.
Elfriede Dreyer of the Department of Visual
Arts at the University of Pretoria. The
Durban mural is the second in a series of
murals that has been conceptualised to take
place in various provinces in the country.
The first set of Prosperity murals were
completed in Attridgeville in Tshwane last
year.
Aimed at teaching and learning through the
exchange of knowledge and skills
acquisition, creative development, cultural
exchange and beautification of the urban
environment, the mural painting was preceded
by a training course in art principles and
design for a selection of community artists
in the region. Basic drawing skills were
mastered as well as the basic principles of
colour relationships and an understanding of
the properties of colour, accompanied by
training in basic principles of composition
and design. Artists were taught
the “vocabulary” of design and how certain
design principles should constitute the
broader structural aspects of the
composition.
The artists prepared the design for the
mural together with the travelling mural
team from Pretoria. A major challenge of the
project was the commitment to accommodate
different aptitudes, belief systems,
cultural preferences and tastes in the
choice of imagery, since the community
artists that participated came from very
different educational and cultural
backgrounds. Yet human commonality in terms
of a need and desire for prosperity won the
day and various ideas related to a
flourishing society are depicted in the
mural, such as reference to the ideals of
progress and advancement generated by
computer technology development; the virtues
of a healthy lifestyle and education;
Durban’s tourist trade derived from a wealth
of marine aspects; and the merits of labour
and having a job.
Good quality paints have been used in order
to ensure the longevity of the mural and
augment its lifetime. Whilst executing the
mural, the mural team was inundated by
positive responses from an appreciating
public that only seem to be wanting more of
the same elsewhere in the city. According to
Dreyer, the positive added value in terms of
education, tourism, marketing and upliftment
of the cultural spirit gained from the
project renders it highly relevant and
sustainable.
Mural team:
Community artists:
Thubelihle
Hlela,
Thabani
Hlela,
Mbongeni
Msani,
Musa Mthembu,
Clive
Sitholi,
Mxolisi
Sphengane,
Smanga
Madlala,
Sasha
Ngidi
Lindelani
Ndinisa,
Innocent
Hlela,
Sandile
Buthelezi, Purity
Hlatshwayo,
Goodman
Ndlovu,
Xolile
Mazibuko,
Bernett
Mashinga,
Tebogo
Motle.
University of Pretoria: Christa Swart, Prof.
Elfriede Dreyer
