Sea Walls: South Africa Announces lineup of Artists

Cape Town, South Africa: The PangeaSeed Foundation has announced a list of 11 South African and three international mural artists to participate in the Cape Town leg of their renowned public art programme Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans.

Sea Walls: South Africa, presented by the Save Our Seas Foundation, starts Monday 6 November when a visceral procession of ocean creatures and flora will begin to appear on the side of 14 buildings around Cape Town to make an indelible mark in the fight to protect our oceans.

Heading to Cape Town for the inaugural Sea Walls project in Africa will be Antonio Segura, aka DULK, a native of Spain famous for his surreal depictions of threatened animals. DULK and Germany’s Yeye Weller, whose powerful cartoon style has attracted clients such as Warner Bros and the New York Times, will join Si Omar (aka Cracked Ink), the British street artist based in New Zealand known for his character-based, monochromatic creations.

DULK, Weller and Cracked Ink will join top South African artists Amy Lee Tak, Aweh Migo, Breeze Yoko, Care One, DBongz, Marie-Louise Koen, Marti Lund, Sonny Behan, Stefan Smit, and Dirty Native Njabulo Hlophe to add more works to PangeaSeed’s network of more than 500 murals in 19 countries created by more than 400 artists utilising the motto: A Drop of Paint Can Create an Ocean of Change.

Apart from the actual work in locations such as Gardens, Kalk Bay, Newlands, Muizenberg, Cape Town CBD, and Salt River, visitors can enjoy a week-long, free-to-the-public programme that includes a youth outreach at local schools, a coastal cleanup, and self-guided driving tours to the murals.

Sea Walls: South Africa, in partnership with SJ Artists and Wavescape, will culminate in a free community event at Jack Black’s Taproom that features short film screenings and a panel discussion at the intersection between science, art and activism.

The latter two merge to form the word “artivism”, a term coined by Pangeaseed Foundation Founder Tre Packard, who will be visiting Cape Town to see another Sea Walls project reach fruition.

“We’re very excited to be in Cape Town for another edition of Sea Walls. As a bustling urban city surrounded on three sides by the raw might of the Atlantic Ocean, it is a natural fit for our message of solidarity with communities fighting to save the natural spaces around them, while dealing with the diverse challenges unique to South African culture,” he said.

Project Manager for Sea Walls: South Africa Shani Judes said: “Our collaboration with Sea Walls really puts Cape Town on a global map as a special leg on a unique tour of art and activism that brings to life how critically important the oceans are to our survival.

“It’s also a way to leave behind a legacy for Cape Town residents and our artistic community to engage with each other, and feel part of the global Sea Walls family, who make such a visual impact in the quest to protect our oceans.”

The murals are designed to be purpose-driven and educational to inspire ocean stewardship through creativity and visual storytelling. Each artwork draws on locally relevant environmental challenges, as well as historical legacy and other challenges faced by communities.

In Newlands, the work by DBongz will pay homage to its location on a wall on the side of the Cape Town headquarters of the South African National Deaf Association. Armed with buckets and tools to collect ocean plastics, a young child signals via sign language his intent to protect endangered species whose natural habitats are being destroyed by humans.

CEO of the Save Our Seas Foundation James Lea said: “Striking art can connect with people in a way that science often struggles with, which is why we’re delighted to collaborate again with Sea Walls and Wavescape to present a stunning array of murals across Cape Town that highlight the majesty of our oceans. Through fostering peoples’ connection with nature, we strive to promote ocean stewards who can help advocate for the health of our oceans.”