Benches
by Jair Straschnow & Bert Kramer
Drill Hall, Johannesburg
Local and international artists are adding to the City's drive to beautify
its public spaces through a public art project that comprises a laboratory
and a two-week festival.
Cascoland, a research and art project from the Netherlands, is holding the laboratory for local artists and designers, followed by a two-week festival at the Drill Hall in the inner city.
It is here on the invitation of the Joubert Park Project (JPP), a public art initiative that promotes the cultural and social climate of the area.
The aim of the public art project is to create awareness of particular urban issues in a creative framework and to encourage communities to become actively involved in beautifying their environments and shaping their public spaces, according to Bie Venter, a member of the JPP.
"We invited Dutch artists to come and share information with us in Johannesburg. The six-week laboratory is being run by international and South African artists, architects, landscapers and designers in collaboration with members of the community," she says.
International members
of the team include Indre Klimaite, Jair Straschnow and Bert Kramer,
Cascoland Visibility in the Surrounding Area, Ruben Abels and Design Arbeid,
and Moving Hands AnimationWorkshops, among others. Local creative contributors
comprise of Usha Seejarim, Doung Anwar Jahangeer, urban geographer and
animation artist Ismail Farouk, and the Public Garden Project.
Ndaba Dlamini