Capetonian to turn Rainbow Nation into a Graffiti Nation

CAPE TOWN graffiti artist Falko is touring the country to share his art with residents of small towns.

Falko, from Mitchells Plain, wants to change the locals’ perception through his latest project, Once Upon a Town, by adding his artwork to their homes – one small town at a time.

He has been regarded as an integral part of the South African graffiti scene and has travelled around the world to do graffiti art.

Falko recently visited Riebeek West and Garies, in the Northern Cape, and people welcomed him into their communities, offering him money for his artwork.

“In the greater scheme of things, small towns are kind of the backbone of the country, where the things that keep our country running, like agricul-

Every day I painted a small piece on one of the homes in the street

ture and mining, take place,” he said.

“I want to explore South Africa and make use of our geographies, people and infrastructure – or the lack thereof. We have everything here to make our work exciting and desirable. All it takes is some vision,” Falko said.

The idea for Once Upon a Town came from a week-long project Falko carried out in Delft, Cape Town.

“Every day, after the programme was done, I painted a small piece on one of the homes in the street I was in. I saw a change in how the area looked after a few days and the locals were anticipating something from me daily. That really planted the seed for this project,” he said.

Falko had been in King William’s Town where too many residents wanted him to paint their homes.

“Some people were saying they had been trying to paint their homes for years but did not have money. It has been a very good tour. So far we have visited four towns. For each home I paint, I want them to see change and what their homes are worth,” he said.