Art fest ‘not gentrification’
First street art festival about expression, education, say organisers
THE International Public Art Festival, South Africa’s first street art festival, is under way in Salt River, amid criticism on social media that this is just the first step to gentrifying a traditional old Cape Town suburb.
Not so, says organiser Sebastien Charrieras, who came up with the idea five years ago in discussion with celebrated Cape Town artist Mak1one, to offer a platform for street art when he saw the lack of public exhibition space.
Charrieras and Baz Art, an NPO started for the event, took three months to put the festival together to coincide with the Cape Town Art Fair, and went through the process of consulting with the Salt River Ratepayers Association, sports clubs, residents, schools, businesses, artists and the National Heritage Council, and applied for permission to the city council.
Yesterday the curator of the festival, sculptor and ceramic artist Chantal Woodman, said the 33 local and international artists working on walls in the area had attracted much admiration from the residents and had found themselves with many helpers, especially little children who all wanted to “leave a mark of themselves on the walls”.
“Cape Town is a colourful, vibrant city. Why not adorn the walls of Salt River with art, with works of expression? There are many residents who offered up their walls to be painted on, and many have joined in helping to prime the walls. People are excited,” Woodman said.
Charrieras funded the entire festival, from the buying of paint to the hiring of hoists and sourcing of brushes and canvasses for individual works by the participating artists to be exhibited overseas, and the food made by local residents to feed the artists while they are working in the area until Sunday.
On Saturday, food made by residents will be sold at a market, while musicians will provide the entertainment.
“This festival has been tied to education and artists have been holding workshops at schools in the area and as far afield as Mitchells Plain to encourage the children to paint,” said Charrieras.
Graphic artist and street artist Quasiem Gamiet of Salt River questioned the organisers’ motives for the festival when he saw a post which said: “Salt River’s unique character has started to become known to outsiders as the neighbourhood has entered the early phases of gentrification”.
Woodman said: “The festival is not a container for gentrification, but is merely trying to uplift the community. The artists are not being paid. They just want to paint and everyday more artists are asking to join in and more residents are offering their walls to be painted.”
At one primary school, artist DFEAT ONCE was surrounded by children as he painted a mural with symbols of school, as a means to encourage them to learn.
Even the back wall of the Salt River Fire Station is getting a facelift with images of firefighters, painted by Sea Point artist Jack Fox.