A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the blankets seen in the images were provided by Edward Musakwa. They were part of Erin Johnston’s project “Hush!”. We apologise for these errors.
A number of initiatives were set up on the Rooiplein above the Stellenbosch University (SU) library from 14 to 16 October. They showcased several student projects that aimed to use public space as a medium for change.
Visual Arts students were tasked to critically engage with local public environments as part of a Visual Communication Design programme, said Mieke van der Merwe, junior lecturer at the Visual Arts Department at SU.
The students had to do this by “creating a visual communication design platform to address issues of spatial injustice”, Van der Merwe said.
“Our hope for this project is to encourage students to use design as a medium to become agents of change in our society,” she said.
Student spaces
Overall, the projects took two weeks to complete, said Erin Johnston, one of the students who situated her project on the Rooiplein. Johnston’s project, titled “Hush!”, was inspired by a survey she conducted that asked participants a series of personal questions.
The results of the survey drove Johnston to create a space that could “encourage people to talk about things [they] don’t normally talk about, such as mental health, loss, anger or grief,” she said.
Visual Arts student, Erin Johnston, used her project to give people a space where they could write letters. These were displayed within her artwork’s space. Some letters were for dead loved ones. Other letters explained how some students who appeared okay to others, were inwardly very stressed. PHOTOS: Byron Latham
Another project called “Funga”, by Edward Musakwa, was situated alongside Johnston’s. The word funga means “to think” in Shona, according to Musakwa.
According to Musakwa, his project was inspired by conversations he had with other students, as well as a career guidance counsellor. Musakwa’s artwork was aimed at tackling classism on campus.
“Many people conflate an occupation and the degree you are studying on campus,” Musakwa said.
The interviews he conducted suggested that the degree one studied reflected how one was treated on campus, he said.
In order to combat this, Musakwa wanted to create a project where people could come and interact with each other and the space. To create such a space, he provided a guitar, as well as a piano, for students and passers-by to use. Musakwa also took music requests via youtube to set the mood, he said.
According to Musakwa, he hoped his artwork would break down barriers that exist in society, whilst keeping Covid-19 regulations in mind by regularly sanitizing his installation.
Another student, Jordyn Dreyer, chose to situate her project outside of the Pulp Cinema Club in the Neelsie Student Centre, instead of the Rooiplein.
As part of her project, coffee cup lids could be dropped into boxes to vote for one’s favourite film.
According to Dreyer, every day the installation would display different movies that people could vote on. The poll was between Pulp Fiction and The Breakfast Club, on 15 October.
Dreyer’s installation was aimed at being environmentally friendly as it encouraged students to separate their coffee cup lids from their cups. Normally, those lids are not thrown into the correct bin, said Dreyer. She also hoped that her project might help break barriers of race and class by uniting people through their love of pop culture, she said.
