Traveller SPRING 2022

From the editor
Art that can save a city
EDITOR
Gerda Engelbrecht
gerda.engelbrecht@media24.com
ART DIRECTOR
Sally Cronjé
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Petro-Anne Vlok
REPRODUCTION
Dewald Spies
PRODUCTION
Jacques du Plooy
Kurt Ohlson
CEO: MEDIA24
Ishmet Davidson
CEO: PRINT MEDIA
Minette Ferreira
GM: LIFESTYLE
Nerisa Coetzee
GROWTH MANAGER
Lise Coetsee
FINANCE MANAGER
Jameelah Conway
CIRCULATION MANAGER
Armand Kasselman
BUSINESS MANAGER – SALES
Danie Nell
danie.nell@media24.com
GENERAL ENQUIRIES
Yumna Tofey
yumna.tofey@media24.com
COVER IMAGE
ALAMY.COM
PRINTED BY
CTP PRINTERS
One of my favourite types of art is street art, like the pieces highlighted by Jo Buitendach
in her article on pg 30. Not only do you enjoy the art yourself but also the way people come to
a standstill for a moment to view or interact with the art.
At the bottom of Adderley Street, Cape Town, there is a tiny square called Pier Place. It is
much smaller than Greenmarket Square and Thibault Square, but it sits in the shadows of
several busy restaurants and office buildings. It’s close to our offices in the Media24 Centre.
The square has a couple of benches for office workers who need a break, and people use this
space daily. There was even a time when I would often see a group of men play pétanque
(a type of bowling with a set of silver balls) during their coffee breaks. The square also has
a couple of bronze statues. In the one corner, a life-size statue of a man walking with his
hands in his pockets, on the other side, a
child crouching in play, his bronze scooter
cemented in the ground a few steps away,
and in the top corner sits a man, staring
at Adderley Street with a far-off look and
a folded newspaper in his hands. It’s this
statue that gets the most attention. Tourists
often sit next to him on the bench and pose
for photos. Some even drape a comforting
arm around his shoulders. Once I even
saw a man (he was admittedly a little tipsy)
deliver a finger-wagging sermon to this
bronze figure. People love to talk their
heads off to that statue.
Street art isn’t new. A 33-metre high
statue (about the same size as the Statue
of Liberty in New York) celebrating the
Greek god Helio was erected on the Greek island of Rhodos in the year 280 B.C. This statue,
which was destroyed by an earthquake a few years later, is regarded as one of the Seven
Ancient Wonders of the World. In our own country, the San made rock art long before anyone
thought about creating graffiti art against a wall. Street art isn’t just beautiful, it also creates a
safer environment and improves the relationship between the community and surrounding
businesses, writes Grace Austin in the online article The importance of street art. It can even
have a positive effect on the economy.
“Backed by the ‘broken window theory’, order and beauty motivates more individuals to act
responsibly in the community, seeing that it is already established. Without urban art, a sense
that environments are already disturbed and therefore can continue to be abused or used
inappropriately may continue. If the environment is cared for, drug use, crime, robbery, and
vandalism decline statistically. When one window breaks, disorder can erupt.”
May artists help us to beautify our cities and maintain these spaces for years to come.
Gerda
Gerda_travel
Gerda drapes a
comforting arm
around the statue.
3
DISTRIBUTED BY
ON THE DOT
Published by Media24,
a division of NASPERS.
40 Heerengraght,
CAPE TOWN 8001
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WRITE TO US!
We love receiving letters and contributions from
our readers. Send an email to AA@media24.com.
The summer
issue of AA
Traveller will be
distributed in the
first week of
December
2022.
SPRING 2022 | AA Traveller