Photo Cred: The International Public Arts Festival
It’s been another memorable IPAF, with street art once again acting as a beautiful, evocative catalyst for conversation. The calibre of the artists was outstanding.
Western Cape, South Africa (07 April 2022) – The 2022 International Public Arts Festival (IPAF) took place from 23-27 February in Cape Town city centre and attracted major street art talents from around the world.
With the poignant theme of ‘humanity’, the artworks shared consistent commentary around social connection and togetherness.
Festival organiser Lauren Fletcher says, “We are delighted with the success of this year’s IPAF. We were blown away by the concepts and diversity of the works and the response from the public. Like last year, we used the festival to create awareness to raise awareness for incredible creative talent and to highlight Cape Town as an artistic hotspot. We are still offering guided and self-guided tours of the murals, with the aim to put money in our tour guides’ pockets, accelerate the recovery of the visitor economy, and increase footfall to the town.”
The IPAF murals form a fascinating ‘map’ of current issues and commentary from around the world.
Baz-Art co-founder Alexandre Tilmans adds, “We are especially proud to be part of the ‘Your Best Shot’ initiative, in partnership with Santam and Accelerate Cape Town. This campaign includes six murals that spread a message to ‘get vaxxed’. The largest work can be found in the heart of the city, on the corner of Loop and Strand Street. Artists include Bushy Wopp, Mernette Swarts, Silas Ras Moetse, Wayne BKS (aka Conform) and Dekor One.”
Here are the walls from the IPAF 2022:
Artist: Stefan Smit, a South African fine artist currently exhibiting locally and internationally. His piece depicts the importance of human and social connection.Artist: Yessiow, aka Yessi Nur Mulianawati; an illustrator and mural artist from Bali. The mural is called “Listen” and shows how listening is crucial for a deeper human connection.Artist: Motelseven, a local artist who started their street art career in Cape Town. She is now exhibited around the world and her take on humanity is that we need to be in solace and reflection to find perspective on what it means to be human.Artist: Manolo Mesa, a Spanish graffiti artist and ceramicist. His mural seeks to inspire us to reflect on human unity and depicts the world’s oldest pottery and ceramic artefacts used by the first humans.Artist: Stefan Smit, a South African fine artist currently exhibiting locally and internationally. His piece depicts the importance of human and social connection.Artist: Isaac Zavale, a fine artist, muralist and co-founder of Prints on Paper, from Mozambique. His mural is a tribute to the strength of South African women and seeks to demonstrate the link between gender-based violence and alcohol.
It’s been another memorable IPAF, with street art once again acting as a beautiful, evocative catalyst for conversation. The calibre of the artists was outstanding.
Fletcher concludes, “If you haven’t seen the ‘final walls’ in person, we urge you to do so by supporting one of our local tour guides! You can book a tour online, via our website, or download a map to wander through the works yourself.”
Sources: The International Public Arts Festival
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