KZN PROSPERITY COMMUNITY MURAL PROJECT

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

TRAINING

WORK IN PROGRESS

SPECTATOR  VALUE!

DETAILED IMAGES