Ekurhuleni bus stations will give young artists rapid exposure

15 July 2016 - 20:36 By Julia Madibogo

For 34-year-old Goodlord Shoyisa being an artist is not just a career. It's passion that took years of hard work and sweat to get him to where he is today.The talented fine artist is one of 31 people chosen by Ekurhuleni metro in June to come up with unique pieces of art that will decorate the walls of the Rea Vaya bus stations when they start operating later this year.When funds to complete his studies dried up three years ago‚ Shoyisa took up a job at a construction company to save money to complete his studies."I was working for Buzaphi Construction - they were based around Thokoza and Katlehong. It's what I had to do when I couldn’t finish varsity. I had to find a job so construction was what I could find. I worked there for some time. Its hard labour but someone had to do it‚" the artist said.Shoyisa says he grew up in a humble home in KwaZulu-Natal and his mother worked as a hawker to provide for him and his siblings. After completing matric‚ he moved to Johannesburg in 2008 to study fine arts at the University of Johannesburg's Doornfontein campus. The new bus rapid transit System (BRT) is currently under construction on major routes in Tembisa.The public will choose the art that will eventually feature along the transport route. The artists’ works form the Harambee BRT exhibition at the Moses Molelekwa art centre in Tembisa.The work of only 13 artists work will be selected‚ but Shoyisa is confident that his work‚ which is mostly inspired by his personal story‚ will be part of the art on bus station walls.Fellow artist Thabo T'moc Mocwiri‚ who is a fashion designer by profession‚ said the project has taught him how fashion‚ music and art gel together."We are the first group to collaborate in the whole BRT project … When it comes to me‚ I am a stylist and a designer but within my team we collaborated with others with different skills and that has strengthened me as a designer in terms of it taught me how to work with different skilled people to achieve one goal‚" Mocwiri said.Graphic designer Peggy Ntsepe‚ from KwaThema‚ said the project will give the artists exposure."The facilitation of the process has helped young artists to start thinking about their art in a different light; how we start to communicate with others through our art. The routes are also going to be used by a lot of people so that is a lot of exposure for us‚" Ntsepe said...

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