The Johannesburg Development Agency has had the honour of being the lead implementing agent for the Rea Vaya Rapid Transit System (BRT) stations along the Louis Botha Development Corridor.
As part of an ongoing commitment to public placemaking through arts and through community-based co-production, the JDA appointed a curator and coordinator of a public arts programme called #ArtMyJozi. Within this programme, community-produced artworks have been developed for each BRT station along the Louis Botha corridor.
The Rea Vaya BRT stations public art celebrates the diverse stories that define Joburg and its residents. Each Rea Vaya station features glass-engraved, original artwork that reflects Joburg’s diverse population, echoes its vibrant energy, and mirrors and refracts its unique architecture, colours, shapes and textures.
The art is about interconnectedness – between the network of stations as part of a holistic system of travel, as well as between the stations and their immediate neighbourhoods, always taking into account the people who live and work in the communities served by each station.
The artworks are not merely an attempt to beautify the stations, but also to create something of worth, embedded in the very structure of the stations, that engages and pays tribute to the people who use the facilities on a daily basis.
To date, artworks have been installed at the following Louis Botha corridor stations:
1. Hawthorne - 1 entrance (2 artworks by DuduBloom/Duduzile More)
2. Corlett - 1 entrance (2 artworks by Raymond Fuyana)
3. Lees - 2 entrances (4 artworks by Bramley Primary/Ububele Education Psychotherapy Trust)
4. Clarendon - 2 entrances (2 artworks by Mario Soares, and 2 by Clare Appleyard)
5. Grafton - 1 entrance (2 artworks by Sandile Goba)
6. KES - 1 entrance (2 artworks by Odirile Mabaja)
Each station has an artwork (in two sections) at the entrance, installed onto the glass and steel panelling.
During the current financial year, 2019/2020, the JDA will revisit the Joburg CBD with artworks destined for Bathhouse, Constitution Hill, Metro Centre, Park Station, and Ghandi Square stations.
