Art News South Africa

Baz-Art, IPAF encourages eco-friendly, sustainable awareness with 2018 event

From 10-19 February 2018, Cape Town, South Africa will be hosting the second annual Public Art Festival (IPAF) in Salt River. The nine-day festival will see organisers, Baz-Art mirror the festival's theme of 'We Need Nature' by introducing a number of green and environmentally friendly policies and actions.

This year IPAF will partner with eco-friendly brands such as L7 craft beer, which has no chemicals, colourants, flavouring or preservatives and uses 100% organically farmed ingredients. IPAF is also using eco-friendly paints rated by their green filter, which clearly indicates the VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) and other chemical content.

Baz-Art, IPAF encourages eco-friendly, sustainable awareness with 2018 event

Changing behaviours toward the environment and nature

Glass bottles at the festival will be filled with spring water for drinking; and eco-friendly lunch-boxes for meals will be issued to the artists to be used by them for the duration of the festival; bicycles and scooters will be the chosen mode of transport by artists and organisers to reduce their carbon emissions; most of the artists will be accommodated as near to Salt River as possible to avoid driving; and the organisers are encouraging car-pooling by those attending the festival.

Empty spray cans and recyclable waste used by the artists during the festival will be collected by an appointed recycling company; as well as the artists, the community, the attendees and the full support of the City of Cape Town to make sure the streets are clear from rubbish at all times.

Asked about Baz-Art’s motivation for this theme, organiser Alexandre Tilmans said: “We believe in the subconscious power of imagery which can be attained through public art arenas. Street art could really be a very powerful medium to reach people and raise social awareness regarding real, multi-faceted issues such as the need to conserve our natural resources.”

Through the festival’s theme, ‘We Need Nature’, IPAF is using the power of street art to convey a strong message about why we have to alter our behaviour towards the environment and nature or face dire consequences from nature herself. Each year, a theme is chosen that resonates with the situation or mood of the times. Considering the current water crisis in Cape Town and the overall negative impact of global warming, IPAF believes that this theme will evoke passion and emotion from its artists and promote more awareness from the public about why we need nature.

Entry to the festival is free, but tickets to the spray paint workshops and guided tours will be on sale from Webtickets. Keep an eye on Baz-Art’s Facebook page and Instagram account for updates.

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