Baz-Art, a non-profit organisation established in 2016, recently announced that the eighth International Public Art Festival (IPAF) is set to transform the streets of Cape Town into a vibrant canvas of public art and community engagement from February 14-18.

Under the guidance of Baz-Art's Co-Founder and Creative Director, Melissa Cucci, local and international artists will be partnered with key experts from diverse fields to create large-scale public art murals in Cape Town.

“At Baz-Art, we harness this transformative power of art to redefine spaces, to give voice to stories untold, and to foster a sense of community. Our mission is to turn every wall, every street, every corner into a conversation, into an opportunity for change. Here in Cape Town, we're not just creating art, we're crafting the future, one brushstroke at a time," said Cucci.

Placemaking as a pathway to safety

Placemaking is an innovative approach to transforming public spaces into vibrant community hubs through the power of art.

Annually, IPAF curates a series of public art projects that not only beautify spaces but also stimulate social interaction, enhance urban safety, economic development, and cultural exchange.

This year, the festival begins with activations in The Company’s Garden and unfolds throughout Cape Town's CBD, inviting the public to immerse themselves in a realm where art meets urban living.

"By enlivening neglected areas, we're taking pride in our spaces and making them welcoming for everyone. Placemaking through public art is posited as a beacon of change, potentially marking the beginning of an era where creativity and community collaboration can transform a space and make it more accessible, secure and engaging,” explained Cucci.

IPAF 2024 is set to create public placemaking and groundbreaking public artworks that contribute not only to the aesthetic landscape but also to economic development. This year's theme, ‘CoACT | CoLLAB’, focuses on creative collaboration across various disciplines, sectors, and cultures.

Job creation through culture and heritage tourism

Over the years, Baz-Art has made a significant impact on communities by fostering job creation, stimulating tourism, and celebrating heritage.

“The murals create huge job opportunities for our street art tour guides to take large groups or individuals on tours throughout the city. The festival also allows us to enrol new emerging tour guides. They play a critical role in enhancing our culture and heritage tourism,” Roshana Naidoo, Director & Community Facilitator at Baz-Art told Tourism Update.

Creative and cultural industries offer scope for SME growth

A topic at last year’s Africa Tourism Leadership Forum focused on integrating the cultural and creative industries into the continent’s collective tourism offering.

“Most activities that fall in the realm of culture and creativity are talents that individuals are naturally endowed with. This represents a nation’s intangible heritage,” said Botswana’s Minister of Environment and Tourism, Philda Nani Kereng.

“Viewed in this manner, cultural and creative industries predispose countries for success in developing small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” she said, adding that although SMEs were relatively small, what they lacked in size was compensated by their important role in the economy.

“They outnumber large firms, employ vast numbers of people, and are intrinsically entrepreneurial in character, thereby helping to shape innovation,” said Kereng.

She pointed out that SMEs also had a considerably large potential for integrating women and the youth in the creation of tourism value chains, particularly in the creative and cultural spaces.

She further noted that local communities continued to demonstrate a leading role in promoting sustainable tourism by integrating nature and cultural practices. Through this, much-needed jobs, particularly for the youth, were generated at the local levels.

CEO of Africa Tourism Partners, Kwakye Donkor, said the global Cultural and Creatives Industry was worth $2.5 billion and represented 22 million jobs.

“This sector is expected to create a further 33.8 million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa over the next year,” said Donkor.

He said the value of developing the Cultural and Creatives Industries would be immense for the tourism and other key economic growth sectors – including jewellery, textiles, film, fashion and transport.