Public Art Competition for Council Chamber Open for Public

08 June 2016

 

How to win R 5000 by entering your totem sketch

The Joburg Property Company, an agency of the City of Joburg, is calling on all Johannesburg citizens to submit designs of totems for consideration as permanent fixtures inside the new Council Chamber, which is currently under construction in Braamfontein.

 

One totem for each of the 134 wards of Johannesburg will be selected to represent the different communities, which means 134 residents of the City will each walk away with R 5000 prize money for their totem sketches.

The progressive Council Chamber, which will form the core of Johannesburg’s new Metro Centre, is currently being built with the sole purpose to improve service delivery to the City’s citizens. The Chambers are being modeled on the design of the African drum and the circular Lekgotla concept, which means “meeting place” or “meeting place of leaders”. The concept is therefore very appropriate, as the Council will gather at this venue in future to make impactful decisions regarding the upliftment of this world-class African city’s communities.

The 134 winning sketches chosen from the public art competition entries, which is currently open for submissions, will be turned into a unique wooden sculpture by a specialist fabricator.

These wooden totems representing the 134 wards of Johannesburg will be installed on mullions between the panes of glass that surround the Chambers. Totems are monumental sculptures carved on poles, posts or pillars with symbols or figures made to symbolise or commemorate cultural beliefs that recount familiar legends, clan lineages or notable events. The inclusion of totems in the Council Chamber will therefore serve to celebrate African history, its languages, and cultural practices.

Create your legacy for the Council Chamber

To stand a chance to be selected, citizens are encouraged to base their designs on the overarching theme of warmth and inclusivity at the new Chambers. More importantly, their totems need to embody the distinctive story of the inhabitants of the communities.

The closing date of the competition has been extended, and citizens’ have until 17 June at 12:00 (noon) to submit their totem drawings. At the end of the competition, the artistic work of one citizen from each community or ward of Johannesburg will be selected, to ensure that all of them are emblematically represented within the new Council Chambers. Each of the 134 winners will not only leave their legacy in this iconic building, but will be rewarded R 5000 as remuneration for their work.

How to enter the competition

Online:

Download a competition entry form from Joburg Property Company’s website homepage at www.jhbproperty.co.za. Once you have printed and completed your entry, you can submit your drawing at your local ward office, or at Joburg Property Company (1st Floor, Forum 2
Braam Park, 33 Hoofd Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg).

Drop it off:
Alternatively, forms can be collected and also dropped off at your region’s local ward.

Region/Ward Venue
REGION A Rabie Ridge, Rabie Ridge Community Hall
REGION C Roodepoort, Discovery Recreation Centre
REGION D Soweto, Umthombo Wolwazi Hall – Dobsonville
REGION E Alexandra, Atrec Centre
REGION F Inner City, Johannesburg Art Gallery
REGION G Lenasia, Lenasia Civic Centre Library
Orange Farm, Orange Farm Multipurpose Hall

Stay informed

You can keep abreast of the competition, as well as the broader OSO programme of which the Council Chamber forms part of, by engaging with the following social media platforms:

Twitter link: https://twitter.com/jhbproperty
Twitter handle: @jhbpropery

LinkedIn link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joburgpropertycompany
LinkedIn name: Joburg Property Company

Twitter: https://twitter.com/OSOJoburg (@osojoburg) 
https://twitter.com/jhbproperty (@jhbproperty)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/OSOJoburg
Instagram: www.instagram.com/osojoburg/ (@osojoburg)
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/joburgpropertycompany