FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Street art can’t transform Joburg’s inner city, but it’s a start
On Johannesburg’s bridges and gateways, street art is shifting how the inner city is seen, crossed and slowly reclaimed by those moving through it daily.
Johannesburg's inner city is slowly being reimagined through street art, but it is not a complete transformation by any means. The city's Nelson Mandela Bridge was once an object to be hurriedly crossed, but now it is being reclaimed by passersby. The Shweshwe patterns painted on the bridge pillars have disrupted its reputation and prompted people to take notice.
Street art is being used not to decorate Johannesburg, nor to disguise its flaws, but to alter the way people feel in these spaces and to gradually reclaim them. The project, led by Jozi My Jozi, focuses on the city's gateways – the first impression of Johannesburg for many - and aims to turn these areas into cleaner, safer, and more welcoming places.
This approach is not unique to Johannesburg, as other cities like Philadelphia, Miami, and Rio de Janeiro have used public art to connect artists, neighborhoods, and civic life. However, the power of public art lies in its ability to persuade people to look again, to slow down, and to see care where they had grown accustomed to neglect.
On the Queen Elizabeth Bridge, the team behind the Gateways Project preserved an earlier piece of street art and added new figures representing people who actually use the bridge. This approach recognizes the everyday life of Johannesburgers and transforms the bridge from a mere passage to a place where people are acknowledged and celebrated.
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