ONE of the largest murals in the country, covering just 600 square meters, has been erected on the side of Six Durban Club Place. The mural depicts the late Anton Lembede, founder President of the ANCYL and after whom Durban’s Smith Street was re-named. The unveiling also marked the start of the regeneration of Durban Club Place, a dedicated professional and legal quarter in central Durban. The mural is also the largest privately funded piece of public art in the province,
The family of Lembede, who were also present at the unveiling, showered praise on the artist and Urban Lime properties for their work in helping preserve the life and legacy of the icon. Sibongile Lembede, the niece and Managing Trustee of the Anton Lembede Trust, said:
“As a family we are very happy about the artwork, it helps with the preservation of his legacy. The family is very appreciative of the work done by the artist and Urban Lime Properties who commissioned the artist. The mural will also give a chance to those who didn’t know Anton Lembede, to see how great a man he was. We also hope that other forgotten icons of our struggle will be honored in this way.”
Despite managing the Trust of one the sharpest political icons the country has ever produced, Lembede said: ” The Trust currently has a number of projects it runs but needs funding to carry them through. We would also like appeal to government, business and the private sector to donate to the trust.”
Artist, Sakhile Mhlongo, who painted the full length mural of Anton Lembede the lawyer, wearing a trim suit in shades of charcoal, carrying his legal briefcase and striding purposefully towards court, has also painted several portraits of prominent figures for the city of Durban.
“Painting a mural of a man of this stature was very daunting, I had to do a lot of research about the man, the work he did, visit museums and go through some of his photos to see what he looked liked. I am very excited that the family is happy about the work that I did here. This is by far the biggest and proudest artwork I have done and this is only the beginning of great things in my career. I am also very honored to be part of such an important step in the regeneration of the city I love,” Mhlongo said.
CEO of Urban Lime properties, Johnny Friedman said: “Research shows that public art plays a very important part in urban regeneration, by making an immediate impact and land-mark statement in a city as well as offering people a sense of place, hope and history.”
Described as the principal architect of South Africa’s fully-fledged ideology of African nationalism, Lembede had a strong influence on Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo.
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