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The streets of Braamfontein came alive with colour last week when artists with spray cans took over the trendy Joburg suburb.
It was all part of the annual City of Gold Urban Arts Festival, a street celebration of all things graffiti. A few of the best writers – painters – were in town and some even came from abroad to take part. Selected walls around the Grayscale Store and Gallery were given an edgy facelift.
But, before the writers got started on the artwork on the walls, they had to get the nod first from property owners.
Then the fun began. Cans were shaken – not stirred – and a fine mist of paint was applied with delicate strokes and rhythmic control.
Some of the artists who took part were the popular Falco, Chow Mein, Zesta, Breeze, Myza 420, Mr Ekse, Rekso, Mars, Sobekcis (Serbia), Malik (Switzerland) and Malakkai (Spain).The artists were more like magicians – conjuring spells with spray can wands.
Graff cats are usually quite secretive as this art form can be illegal – happening on walls that have not been approved.
A few of the homies were too busy to chat and others were hesitant. I spoke to Jared (street name Jestr), one of the organisers, about how it all came about.
“The festival has been around for six years. It started in 2011 but had a break in 2016 and last year. Now we’re back.”
The festival was the brainchild of the master of realism, local graffiti wizard Rasty.
In previous editions the artists worked on walls in different areas, but this year they focused on Braamfontein only.
“It made it tricky for people to get to different places, so we revised that and it’s made things easier for people to experience the work.
“We want to promote graffiti as a legitimate art form and get people to follow it as they do traditional art.
“The public space is for everybody. We hope people will appreciate how this can change a space and allow people not only to appreciate the architecture of a building but the artwork on the outside, too.”
Bomber Empty explained the inspiration behind his monopoly-themed piece: “It came from something I started working on a year ago, trying to fuse my love for art and the streets. It’s also me paying homage to the Krooks, who I roll with.”
He said he hoped the festival would spread positive knowledge about graffiti and that more people would consider it as another form of art. “I know people – famous artists – who paint amazing things on canvas, but they can’t do this.”
The festival came to an end with a series of crowd-judged art battles. Go see the work. It’s free. And it’s creative. It’s art!
