CALL FOR PARTICIPATION – CHANCE TO MAKE YOUR MARK
The Nelson Mandela Metro through the Westbourne Oval and Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Museum invites the community to add their handprints to the Westbourne Oval mural.
The Westbourne Oval stadium is the home of Eastern Province Athletics, in addition the stadium hosts numerous cycling, and soccer events. This historic centre of sports excellence has been in existence for over a hundred years. In July 1899 the foundation stone was laid honouring a request to the then Town Council from the Amateur Athletic and Cycling Club to convert the area into a cycling track. In the 1930’s the stadium was upgraded to host professional athletics and cycle competitions.
The Westbourne Oval is situated in the historic suburb of Richmond Hill. This area has become known for a unique restaurant culture with numerous fun and exciting places to dine out at. The area also sports a strong creative culture.
In recent years the Richmond Hill community has been uplifted by the Richmond Hill Special Rates Association. The Richmond Hill SRA sponsored to paint the Westbourne Oval wall white, in preparation for the new murals. The SRA supports the beautiful, diverse and vibrant community of Richmond Hill.
In June 2023, three mural artists were selected through public call to produce three unique mural designs to brighten up the exterior wall of the Westbourne Oval. The selection committee compromised sportsmen and women associated with the Oval, representatives from the Nelson Mandela Bay department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture.
The three selected artists were Gabriel Chaponda, Ricardo Swanepoel and Melissa Tredoux. Each of these artists have brought their unique creativity offering.
On Saturday the 30 March 2024 between 10:00am and 13:00pm, the public is invited to add their handprints to the mural design.
If you would like to participate, please send a WhatsApp to the Art Museum on 079 490 0690. We will provide paint and water to wash afterwards but we recommend wearing clothes you don’t mind getting a bit of paint on.
BRIEF BIO’S OF EACH ARTIST
Melissa Tredoux is a resident in Richmond Hill. She studied performing arts at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town designing sets for theatre and film. "My love for fine art, and my qualification in performing arts technology, equipped me with the perfect skillset for creating mural art for a variety of projects”. Her first mural was a set of wings painted on a wall and is very popular. https://www.news24.com/news24/community-newspaper/pe-express/melissa-tredouxs-walls-of-wonder-20231113
Ricardo Swanepoel is a community based, self-taught artist, activist, poet and environmental activist, amongst other things. He resides in Helenvale and is a single father of four. "I love working with children from my community, teaching them art and art as a viable career choice. I do this by exposure to artists, styles processes and a healthy dose of success stories, they can relate to, as inspiration”. https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/ricardo-swanepoel-5418947531507215883
Gabriel Chaponda is a resident in Richmond Hill. He is a practicing visual artist, designer and social media star known for the pop Art inspired mural on the wall of ARTEC gallery. "I believe that art has the power to break thresh- holds and change mindsets”. He is currently employed full time at Tavcor Motors as a Designer & Applicator.