Graffiti Takeover in Joburg's Banking District
The City of Gold Urban Art Festival is happening all week in Joburg. I was planning an epic post at the end of the week with all the highlights, but I just realized that I’ve already taken far too many photos to fit into one post and the week isn’t even over yet. It looks like I’ll be doing a City of Gold Series.
Here are a few shots from the festival kick-off last Sunday, when several of the featured artists painted a temporary wall outside of the Absa Building on Main Street. Absa Bank is the corporate sponsor for City of Gold (Absa also sponsored the coinciding Joburg City Festival last weekend), and it was pretty cool watching these talented graffiti writers painting outside a big-bank skyscraper.
Early stages of the painting on Sunday at Absa.
A trifecta of spraying hands. That’s my boyfriend Ray (a.k.a. Bias) in the foreground, with Veronika, Solo One, and Mr. Dheo in the background.
Here’s some nice advertising for you, Absa. You can thank me later.
Falko, a well-known graffiti artist from Cape Town.
Bias.
WANE, from New York City.
Veronika, a local boy from Joburg.
I’m loving all the artists in this festival. I wish there were some ladies involved though. Do you hear me, artistically-inclined-girls? Go buy some spray cans and start painting walls.
Unfortunately this graffiti wall has already been taken down so you won’t be able to see it at Absa. But it’s on display now at the Grayscale Gallery in Braamfontein. And there is also a graffiti exhibition inside the Absa Gallery, which will be up for another few weeks.
Much more graffiti to come.
Comments
Gosh, I love this work! I love street art in general, but this stuff is really special. Thanks for sharing these photos, Heather!
Hugs from Ecuador, Kathy
Thanks Kathy. I love your graffiti posts, too.
There are loads of female graffiti writers in South Africa - NardStar, Page33, Fin, Lady Propa, TBird and obviously Faith47. Then there is also Indigo - who participated in the Underbelly Project in NY - She’s Canadian but spent a lot of time in Cape Town, Also Xanelle Puren who started of as a grag writer with Freddy Sam and now has the See-Saw-Do project. Internationally there are a lot as well - Lady Aiko who painted in Kliptown and in Jozi, Swoon, and then Jasmin Siddiqui, or “Hera,“of the mighty Herakut….the list goes on and on
Well, City of Gold needs to get some of those women next year :)
Faith was invited with her husband DalEast but she’s launching her solo show in London this week http://aquaregalia.com/ - Hera was invited last year but only her partner Akut painted the beautiful Cheetah & Child in Chinatown (Commissioner Street) as Jasmin turned ill shortly before the festival.
Beautiful art! It made me think I need to take a drive over to L.A. and see what’s happening. As in, are we holding up our end?!!
I don’t know much about the graffiti scene in LA but I’m just guessing that they are :)