This city could definitely do with some...

...colour.
I stumbled across Katie's blog and immediately fell in love with the humour and brightness. She is (in her own words) a "24 year old freelance photographer, actress, street artist and fun maker!"
I love her quirky designs and how she brightens up any drab urban environment. I always admire people who manage to create successful interactive art.
Here are some of the inspiring images from her blog:

All images by Katie Sokoler. Visit her blog for more eye-candy and information.

Invisible Cities

What do you get if you combine a bunch of stylish people, great musicians, an empty parking lot, a pirate radio station and abandoned buildings? A sort-of-like-drive-in but waaaayyy more fun. We brought our cooler bags, our cameras, our friends and our party shoes and we danced the Sunday Blues away.
Here is a quote from the Invisible Cities website to explain what these events are all about:

"Invisible Cities is a year-long music and arts festival in the form of 12 once-off monthly events set in the empty buildings soon to be part of Johannesburg’s Maboneng arts precinct. Transitional spaces - buildings that are no longer what they once were, and not yet what they will soon become. Rooftops, hallways, stairwells and facades will be transformed into snapshots of a possible Johannesburg."

 

 

 

All I can say is that I'm endlessly inspired by the organizers of these events, Skeleton Crew. Make sure you keep an eye on their website for more information on the next event. 

Urban Warrior

Her name is Candy Chang. She does profound work. When I look at it, I can see our city having everything she has to offer. According to her website she "likes to make cities more comfortable for people. She’s passionate about exploring ways we can share information in public space to improve our neighborhoods and our personal well-being. Her background in street art, design, and urban planning have informed many of her projects, which redefine the ways our public spaces can be used to incite dialogue and engage citizens with their cities and with each other."


Look at these images below. They do speak for themselves, but I think South African cities, particularly Pretoria, need this sort of interaction desperately. We are too scared to get out there and engage, we live in our security villages and cars and we isolate ourselves from the dirt, poverty and crime.

I particularly like the next set. You can by these stickers from her online shop and stick them on old shopfronts or basically any urban space in need of remedy. In this way, you get the public to voice their opinion and maybe, just maybe, the bureaucrats and red-tapers will take public opinion seriously.

Lastly, this project hit home big time. I wonder how many of us know our neighbours. These cute door hangers say that you are actually available for a quick hello and that you care about your micro-environment. You can download the pdf files of side 1 and side 2 from her website as well.

All images from Candy Chang.