PHOTOS: Make your mark at The Bench in Kloof
Young artists in high school are encouraged to sign up to possibly make their mark at the Elizabeth Bridge in Kloof.
UNTIL fairly recently, many Kloof residents regarded the Elizabeth Bridge as a dank and dark litter magnet.
Two years ago, The Kloof Project, a non-profit organisation, was granted permission by the eThekwini Municipality to brighten up the space with beautiful art murals.
In the process, a natural ‘open to the community’ space was created.
The underbelly of the bridge is now known as The Kloof Bench, a term familiar to street artists who described it as ‘a coming together of like minds to express themselves’.
The Kloof Project staff prepared and painted the grey base walls (sponsored by T’Rifik Painters and Prodek Paints respectively) for the artists.
The various professional artists have been introduced to the zone by Giffy and each one has given freely of their time to create what is fast becoming a talking point in the community.
A special Zapper code was created and placed on a signboard at the site for members of the Public to make donations towards their time and specialised aerosol paints used.
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“This past weekend there were a few new faces, showing the growing interest from further afield of this unique space where any artist can contribute freely, as long as it is of a aesthetically pleasing nature. The Thousand Hills Tourism Association recently formally recognised the space as worthy of inclusion in their list of Day Trip Ideas for visitors in the Upper Highway area,” said the Kloof Project’s chairman, Chris Dalzell.
“The predominantly nature-inspired themes show the artists’ interest in preserving our natural environment and expressing it with their incredible skill and talent,” he said.
The surrounds are kept neat and to ensure this is the case, a litter bin was recently added. The contents of are removed and taken for recycling by a local resident and owner of Skipload mini-skip hire.
The Kloof Project invites high school art students to join and use a spare prepared wall to visually and creatively emphasise that the litter bin alongside must be used for bottles, plastic and cardboard deposits to keep the zone clean.
Contact Bruce Thomson, the Youth Desk co-ordinator of The Kloof Project, on 083 789 9328.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
