SO, WHAT IS ALL ORIGINALS I ART SA COMMUNITY MURAL PROJECT?
Freddy Sam Woodstock Mural Art
The project is a collaboration between /A WORD OF ART and adidas Originals to express passion for creativity and originality.
The idea is simple, we want to promote and celebrate local artists, mural art and the original culture within the communities we interact in. This year we start with Woodstock and then we move to Soweto. Thirteen artists have been selected and assigned one wall per venue, with the given brief of either I ART WOODSTOCK or I ART SOWETO. To ensure a sincere and soft interaction with the residents and community, the painting will take place over three days without media attention or the general public spectating.We will document the action through a video and stills, culminating into an exhibition. The sales of the prints will go towards raising funds for the community art project WRITE ON AFRICA to paint a school in the area. Here on the website we will have inspiring stories and interviews from the community, maps directing you to the murals, photos, videos, artist statements and profiles. We will also use this content to create a ‘zine’ that we will distribute for free around the country. To end off the exhibition we will be hosting a concert, a creative collaboration between local musicians.
This is a very big project and there are various partners who are going to really add to the experience. From /A WORD OF ART curating and producing the project, public participation and partners like Art South Africa Magazine helping us with our media, writing, exhibition and story telling, to the enthusiasm of the Department of Arts and Culture, and adidas without whom this would never be possible. Not only have they allowed us the freedom to create but they will help us share this story with a global audience.
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE IDEA?
The philosophy of Write on Africa is to inspire ourselves to inspire each other to inspire change, and I think this project will achieve that. If we can create inspiration, we can create change. It’s a fantastic opportunity to highlight the beautiful culture within these areas, to promote the art of mural painting and the amazing artists we have in this country.
WHAT’S WITH THE NAME?
We love South Africa,and we love art, and this project is about both. In fact we hope this endeavor will lead to future projects around the world. Can you imagine how beautiful and exciting an I ART MEXICO or an I ART JAPAN project would be. South Africa is the perfect place to start, we really do have some of the most unique and diverse creativity in the world, and this project aims to celebrate this fact.
HOW DID YOU CHOOSE THE 2 LOCATIONS?
We would love to do this project in every community around SA but that’s just not feasible. Both Woodstock and Soweto are communities bursting with untapped creativity also both of these communities get a lot of bad press but the truth is these are beautiful areas with a rich history and inspiring people. Kids play in the street and and neighbours actually know each other’s names. There is a real street culture that you cant say for the many gated communities in SA.
We hope to bring some positive attention, energy and colour to these areas, we hope people will seek out these murals and walk the streets experiencing the community for themselves.
WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN TO LAUNCH THIS EXHIBITION AS PART OF THE TOFFIE FESTIVAL?
Toffie is an amazing art, design, music, film, food, architecture, technology, programming and fashion conference and expo, with inspiring guest speakers from all around the world across these various fields. It’s in its second year and comes from humble beginnings and we love it.
This year it will be held at the City Hall in Cape Town which is such a perfect venue for our exhibition, and we will be able to reach thousands of people with our story. We want to make using art for community enrichment popular,and what better place to launch it than at a popular culture festival?
