Durban harbour subways beautified for safety’s sake
Durban — Two iconic subways leading to the Durban harbour from Margaret Mncadi Embankment (formerly Victoria Embankment) have been given a facelift thanks to artists from the Bartel Arts Trust, the BAT Centre.
Artists partnered with the SAPS stationed in the harbour to launch the inner-city subway beautification project, which is part of the 67 Minutes of Mandela Day initiative.
The visual arts co-ordinator at the centre, Xola Mlandu, said the initiative was aimed at ensuring the subways were clean, safe and accessible while strengthening the vital link between the inner city and the harbour.
One of the subways leads to the Maritime Museum. The facelift has led to significant improvements in the area, which had become derelict and over-run by vagrants.
Mlandu said the initiative was aimed at beautifying the spaces that had a bad reputation. He said there was an issue of crime in these areas and that this initiative aimed to change the feeling of the space, he said.
“This is just a start of other spaces that we plan to paint. With this initiative we want to educate people about art and combat crime by keeping young people busy with art,” he said.
Visual artist Kwanele Sokhela said the project took two weeks to complete and he was ecstatic that the space had been uplifted. He urged people to participate in these initiatives as they continued in other spaces.
Brigadier Mel Newton said the initiative was initiated by the SAPS Harbour to make the area safe.
Newton said the subways were in very bad condition. They had cleaned them out and would have a police officer stationed in the area. The initiative was important to combat crime and give people skills to showcase their talent, Newton added.
The team received sponsorship from Dulux and Plascon.
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