Public beauty for everybody

Two striking and beautiful mural paintings were unveiled last week by the Katutura Is art project at the Bernard Nordkamp Centre. Two larger than life images now adorn the walls at the centre to uplift and enhance the profile of Katutura through the arts.

The Katutura Is art project has been developed around the theme of Katutura, its roots and relevance, and interpreted by artists from different disciplines in dialogue with the community.
The murals were painted by artists Mitchell Gatsi and Johan Johnston with the help and participation of the centre’s children.
The Bernard Nordkamp children drew the patterns on paper and shared their artistic vision in a collaborative workshop with the artists who then brought their images to life on the walls at the main entrance and at the back of the centre. The murals are designed to uplift and enhance the profile of Katutura through the arts and highlight it as a place with rich cultural diversity and history, a centre for commerce and growth and a symbol for the spirit of togetherness and social change, as a model for a new Namibia after 25 years of Independence.
“The power of specifically murals in communities such as Katutura, creates public access to art. Murals are both physically and conceptually accessible to the people whose lives they impact and we believe that they can have a particularly good impact on the children and young people” said the artists.
The “Katutura Is” art project is run in partnership with the Goethe Centre, Joe Vision Productions and Turipamwe Design.