Mandela’s legacy celebrated through art installations
LYME PARK – The iMadiba Project hopes to create a conversation among all those who make use of an art installation.
The iMadiba interactive art project installed two pieces at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and St Stithians College in celebration of Nelson Mandela’s centenary.
The iMadiba Project was conceptualised and created by Erhardt Thiel and which carries the same dimensions of Mandela’s cell on Robben Island. There are also six steel bars embedded in the concrete which aim to give the user the impression of looking through the bars of a jail cell. The sculpture encourages people to sit together and engage in conversation.
The St Stithians College installation was donated by alumni, the chair and deputy chair of the school’s council, Carel Nolte and Ntombi Langa-Royds.
Dr Tim Nuttall, the rector of the school said, “Nelson Mandela had a strong sense of the profound impact of education in shaping individual lives and creating conditions for social progress. It is, therefore, a privilege and an honour for St Stithians College to build on its campus an iMadiba micro museum, participating in this amazing national and global project to honour the legacy of Mandela.
“In this iMadiba, the walls are broken down and the bars reach up to the sky, so this building is a reminder, an injunction to us as South Africans and human beings.”
Satrix was the first corporate sponsor to get involved with the project and decided the stock exchange would be an ideal location. Satrix CEO, Helena Conradie, explained during the launch of the project at the stock exchange that they wanted to embrace Mandela’s concept of ‘equality for all’ and they work toward a goal of financial inclusion for all.
There is also an installation at Nelson Mandela Square, at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and in Madiba’s birthplace in Qunu. Thiel hopes to expand the project to all schools in South Africa and erect at least 100 installations in Madiba’s centenary year, ending 17 July next year, both locally and globally.
Details: iMadiba artist@imadiba.com
Share your thoughts on the project on the Sandton Chronicle Facebook page.
Related articles:
https://sandtonchronicle.staging.lnn.caxton.cloud/114422/st-davids-marist-inanda-uses-art-to-raise-awarenessorpavement-art-project-against-bullying/
https://sandtonchronicle.staging.lnn.caxton.cloud/197455/redhill-school-art-students-impress-the-judges/
