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.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
Given this week’s political nuclear bomb blast, it feels like a weird time to publish a light-hearted post about my recent (pre-election) jaunt through the United States. But I’m hoping you’ve have had enough of the U.S. election horror show – I know I have – and are ready (at least temporarily) for some wholesome American travel adventures. If so, please read on about my four-day visit to Maine, the northeastern-most state in the lower 48, with my sister, Susanna.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.