A VISION aimed at restoring Pietermaritzburg is fast gaining momentum thanks to the involvement of a number of role-players including artists, business owners and residents of the KwaZulu-Natal capital.
The impact was demonstrated with the beautification of the Chief Albert Luthuli Bridge near Riverwood College and the Royal Showgrounds which had been neglected for a long time but were renovated by the city’s business community and beautified by artists.
The bridge had become an eyesore owing to neglect over the years with overgrown vegetation, crumbling railings and paint peeling off.
Faced with this challenge, the Keep Pietermaritzburg Clean Action Group invited individuals and businesses to help clean the bridge.
According to the group’s executive director, Lara Edmonds, the campaign included sponsoring artists under the banner of Mindful Art Society who painted Ndebele-inspired panels on the bridge.
Edmonds said each panel required a sponsorship of R1500, and the individual’s or business’s name would be stencilled in a silver “plaque” under the artwork.
So far, Edmonds said, 18 panels had been sponsored. This and other fundraising efforts by schools, the community and businesses brought in over R32 000 towards the artists’ work.
Cordwalles Preparatory School participated through a fun fundraising project for schools called “Create an Ellie and Fill his Belly” where pupils collected aluminium cans and a R20 note to help raise funds to beautify the city with murals and gardens.
The initiative has seen a number of schools fundraising for Ellie’s and mural panels on the bridge wall.
Part of the work done on the bridge so far included:
* Felling of trees and alien vegetation.
* Repairing the railing.
* Painting the bridge.
Edmonds said businesses were very supportive and provided donations that included chainsaws, brush cutters, herbicide, paint, generators and grinders and fuel, while others bought new railings and sponsored a welding team to straighten and repair the railing.
Mindful Art Society’s Khethiwe Kunene believed the project could be a defining moment for local artists and their future.
“What the project does is that it exposes artists to the public because in most cases people rarely engage with art. But when you have an instance in which there is a bridge featuring a drawing of an artist it provides a chance for members of the public to engage with the art,” said Kunene.
She cited the beautification of the substation along Victoria Street as an example of what happened when artists were involved.
One of the reasons for the successful rollout of the beautification project in Victoria and Greyling streets, Kunene added, was the vested interest by businesses in keeping their surroundings clean.
“This is a business district and there is a shared consciousness and interest in the surroundings and that is why the effort is succeeding,” she said.
Edmonds and Kunene hope there will be a further buy-in into the project, where everyone participated with brush cutters, paint brushes and garden forks to take the city back.