The Murals of Cape Town

As much as Table Mountain, my abiding memory of Cape Town is the extraordinary murals all over the city. Here are some of them.

The vast majority of them are from the Salt River neighbourhood, far from the tourist trails. I went for a guided tour organised by BazArt, who have been working with art, street art and murals for decades now. 

My challenge with South Africa is that you’re often stuck seeing a very privileged, largely white perspective on the country, carefully put together for tourist consumption.

A walk like this helps lift the curtain and see the challenges, the struggles and the promise of the real South Africa. A Multi-racial, Multi-religious locality struggling to find some economic growth, a better life while dealing with the harsh realities of life. Where community gardens and playgrounds are looked after by those in the community who seek to protect them from the young street gangs trying to rule the drug trade with violence. Where stunning murals alternate with graffiti from local gangs marking territory. Where artists from across the world have their murals painted over by local Muslims who use these walls to highlight the brutality faced by Palestinians. Where a school that played a pivotal role in the battle against apartheid stands a few steps away from the corner where two notorious drug lord brothers met their ends, one shot down, the other burnt to death.

Yes there is more to South Africa than the sea and the bars and the wildlife and the wine and the views and the nature. Go out there and seek it. You will end up moved and affected, and you will understand this extraordinary country a little bit more and hopefully carry a more emotionally resonant memory of it with you. 

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