LOCAL businessman, Craig Funnell, in collaboration with We are Durban, Olive Tree Church and a local artist Shaun Oakley have attempted to uplift the community through a decorative mural on Regent Street, New Germany.
The mural was designed and painted by Oakley, a former Wesville resident, with 100 aerosol paint cans in approximately ten hours.
Oakley, who is a merchandise designer by day and graffiti artist by night, has been creating graffiti art for 12 years. According to Oakley the graffiti art is just a part time hobby.
“I love it. It is so much fun. I wish I could do it full time, but it is just not reliable,” explains Oakley.
Oakley was hired by Funnell to paint the wall behind his shop, after he got permission from the land owner, as it was looking very unpleasant.
The Olive Tree Church and We are Durban support a graffiti ministry which is aimed at uplifting schools and other areas with color, while distributing a positive message, said Dave Gold, head of We are Durban.
“We want to show the youth that there is a positive and artistic side to street art. Generally it is associated with troubled youth and vandalism. We want to change that concept,” explained Richard Summers, a volunteer at the Olive Tree church, who initiated the graffiti ministry initiative.
“I think this is a great initiative, using people’s talents to uplift the community. While Shaun is not part of the graffiti ministry we hope that his project will facilitate other similar projects in the future,” said Funnell.
The trio encourages schools and other organisations to get involved. “We want to make KZN beautiful,” continued Funnell.
The Olive Tree church has branched out to Kloof, and are offering services at the Kloof Country Club every Sunday at 9am.
Contact Shaun on 076 521 4201 and Olive Tree Church on 031 303 9063.
