Towards the end of August 2002, the sun rose on a colourful new Johannesburg skyline. The familiar shapes of the high-rise buildings and towers are still there, but they have been dressed in huge works of art reflecting the vibrancy of the city streets below.
The works of art, ranging from paintings to sculpture, to poems, now decorate the high-rise buildings of the city in a colourful metamorphosis.
At night, the giant artworks are even more striking, lit up and visible from the network of highways ringing the city centre.
Cellular network Cell C, in support of the Johannesburg Art City Project, has launched its `For the City` public art campaign, which aims to contribute to the urban revitalisation drive currently taking place in the inner city. The joint effort will turn the Johannesburg downtown area into the biggest outdoor art gallery in the world.
The Cell C artworks, together with those belonging to the finalists of the Johannesburg Art City competition, were unveiled at an event in Newtown, Johannesburg on Tuesday 27 August.
Speaking at the launch, Mondli Gungubele, MEC Gauteng Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture, said: "This must be one of the most inspired and forward-thinking brand campaigns to hit SA in a long time. Cell C is to be commended for taking its message downtown and, by so doing, casting a powerful vote of confidence in the drive to revitalise the inner city. It has found a creative and enriching medium to get its brand across and, at the same time, materially contribute to the renewal programmes being coordinated by the City of Johannesburg."
In a tribute to the spirit of renewal pervading the inner city, cellular network provider Cell C commissioned more than 40 South African artists to produce 35 works reflecting their personal interpretations of Johannesburg`s inner city.
The artists in the project cover the full spectrum of South African society. Their materials range from paint to wood to cardboard, to plastic bags and wire mesh. They were selected on the basis of their commitment to the city of Johannesburg, either through their creativity or by the fact of living and working in Johannesburg.
The only criterion was that artists should include a C shape somewhere in the work, and that it should be signed "for the City". Other than that, they were free to interpret the brief in any way they wished.
Also at the launch, Talaat Laham, chairman and chief executive officer of Cell C, said: "We deliberately kept the brief as open-ended as possible to encourage a broad creative response. We are delighted to have found an innovative, responsible way to get our brand message across and at the same time support the Johannesburg Art City Project`s stated intention to use art as a driving force for urban renewal."
In a project of monumental logistics, the Cell C artworks have been reproduced, blown up and erected on buildings at sites within the city in a few days. The display will be in place for a year.
Cell City is also contributing R500 000 towards phase one of the Johannesburg Art City Project, a separate project that is a combined initiative of the City of Johannesburg; the Central Johannesburg Partnership, the Johannesburg Development Agency and the Johannesburg Inner City Business Coalition, supported by Business and Arts South Africa.
According to Neil Fraser, chief executive officer of the Central Johannesburg Partnership, the project has two objectives - firstly, exposing art as never before to the man in the street and getting people to talk about it, and, secondly, changing perceptions about the city by showing people what`s happening there.
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