An artistic make-over for Kliptown’s looted businesses
Following the devastating wave of looting sprees that rocked Soweto, an extraordinary team of volunteers, businesses and organisations have thrown their weight behind an effort to rebuild Kliptown.
Following the successful launch of a rebuilding initiative by Step Up South Africa (SA) and Phenomenal Women to help local uninsured businesses recover from the devastating effects of looting.
More efforts have been made to improve the appearances of the new establishments – this time, in the form of art. Various artists dedicated their time to come to Kliptown and redesign the shops’ walls. The artists were brought through #10MillionMasks’s Art of Kindness, Non-Government Organisation started during the lockdown.
“The second I met the guys behind step Up, they were just so pure-hearted and have so much passion, that was magnetic. Once you are in that space where you’re seeing a passion like that it just keeps growing in a positive spiral and you want to be a part of it. With this, we want people to know that you have the talent within you to make a difference,” said the NGO’s Curator, Michele Sohn.
By Saturday, the looted shops looked more like beautiful art galleries than township businesses. Artists have filled the walls with unique artwork. These artists ranged from established artists to younger and new artists who took the opportunity to showcase their work while helping the community. One such artist was Johannes Nkuna.
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“It’s great to be able to help out, but it’s also great for the artists as well to come together and learn from one another. As an upcoming artist like me, I look around and I see so many talented others and I get to engage with them, so it’s an interesting mix to be in,” said Nkuna.
Singer-Songwriter, Steve Umculo was also part of the initiative and said he was drawn by the dedication shown by everyone involved.
“When the looting happened, I saw a surge of people online trying to help out, and I really wanted to join the effort. When I joined Step Up SA in the cleaning up, I saw how everyone was so dedicated to this and I felt this patriotic inspiration. When Michele reached out for a musician, I was 100% interested,” he said.
Businesses, organisations and individuals continue to throw their weight behind the effort to help those hardest hit by looting sprees.
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