Art, Architecture, Materiality and Place-Shaping: The Curatorial Strategy for the Public Art Programme at Westown Square
The Public Art Programme at Westown Square represents an ambitious and deeply considered integration of art, architecture, and place identity on the part of the developer. Curated by Angela Shaw, Executive Director of the KwaZulu-Natal Society of the Arts (KZNSA Gallery), the initiative demonstrates how public art can shape atmosphere, guide movement, reflect local heritage and express the cultural narratives ofNtshongweni. Through a multi-phased curatorial process, rooted in research, local engagement and careful site-mapping, the programme transforms the retail precinct into an immersive cultural landscape.
A research-based foundation
The curatorial strategy began with a rigorous international and local research phase, identifying global good practice in public art, surveying practitioners with experience in public-space production and, with the Westown Square Communications Director, Cara Reilly, mapping thematic and material directions relevant to Westown’s identity. This research informed a selection rubric that evaluated each artwork according to two pillars: people and product.
Under people, Shaw assessed public safety, aesthetic delight, audience experience and community benefit, ensuring that multiple KwaZulu-Natal practitioners and fabricators could participate in the programme. Under product, considerations included budget efficiency, production capacity, durability and alignment with the development’s architectural language. This framework ensured a curated collection that is inspiring, safe, sustainable and contextually grounded.
Art and architecture in dialogue
Westown Square’s open-air design provides a unique setting for artworks that interact with natural light, atmospheric conditions and pedestrian movement. Rather than treating art as a contained overlay onto the architecture, Shaw’s approach embeds artworks into the architecture, creating dynamic encounters that shift throughout the day.
One of the most striking examples is Fan Palms (2025) by Xavier Clarisse, a polished stainless-steel installation conceived to “grow” organically across elevations in the main square. The brief called for a work with sculptural relief, rather than flat mounted, and the ability to play with shadow, reflection and to respond to shifts in weather and lighting. Clarisse developed a lichen-inspired composition of steel elements, each mounted at angled intervals to create depth. The forms wrap around the left and right walls of the square, increasing the immersive effect. During the day, sunlight refracts across the polished surfaces, while at night, integrated lighting casts dramatic shadows and shimmering reflections. The work becomes a living surface, reflecting shifts in conditions and echoing tree canopies, natural growth patterns and the surrounding valley landscape.
Murals that extend cultural language
A major component of the programme is a series of murals by internationally acclaimed artist SthenjwaLuthuli, whose distinctive abstract, op-art visual language references African iconography, traditional Zulu patterns and contemporary spatial geometry. Executed in water-based enamel paint in various dimensions, Luthuli’s Murals (2025) were created in situ at four sites at Westown Square with a team of three established artists – Lindani Nyandeni, Ntobeko Madumela and Lungisani Ndlovu.
The presence of Luthuli, who is from Marianhill and internationally exhibited, brings a significant cultural resonance to the development. His rhythmic forms energise the architectural surfaces, creating optical fields that shift with viewer movement. His involvement also extended to the branding of the development: his artwork was featured on the gift bag produced for the VIP opening, visually linking the precinct’s identity to contemporary KZN visual art.
Material heritage: weaving and ceramics
Shaw’s curatorial strategy emphasises the importance of rooting the precinct in local creative traditions. A particularly meaningful contribution is the conversation between the work of Ntshongweni Valley residents– master ceramicist Andrew Walford and the Zuma, Mkhize and Mtungwa families who work in isithebeweaving. Together they produced a series of wall tiles combining Walford’s ceramic works with an isithebegrass mat collage created by Nomfundo Mkhize, Bonesile Zuma, Samkele Mtungwa, Thokozile Mtungwa, Maria Mkhize, Ntombi Mkhize and Phumzile Mkhize.
This fusion of clay and fibre connects architectural surfaces to the materiality of place-based craft, paying homage to the textures, skills and histories of the valley. It is both a cultural and economic contribution, ensuring that multiple artisans benefitted from the programme.
Sculpture and contemporary forms
A sculptural presence is created in Westown Square by two works by Jessica Bothma, Dark Horse I & II(2023). The mixed media sculptures, composed of powder-coated mild steel, perspex and water-based resin, are a playful nod to the equestrian culture of the area. Bothma, an emerging artist gaining recognition for her material experimentation, presents her Dark Horse series as layered, tactile forms that play with translucency, shadow and industrial texture.
Poetry as public art
Expanding the programme beyond purely visual art, Shaw incorporated literary heritage through MazisiKunene’s seminal poem Ukumbulelwa Ngempilo / A Vision of Life (1979). Displayed in both isiZulu and English, the text introduces a contemplative layer to the precinct. By placing poetry within the built environment, the development recognises the intellectual and cultural legacy of Kunene as South Africa’s first Poet Laureate, and positions literature as an equal partner in shaping public space.
Murals of material memory
Artist Selloane Moeti contributed a large-scale mural titled Umbondo awenziwa (2025), executed in water-based enamel paint combined with ibomvu (red clay). Measuring 4 m high by 6.5 m wide, the mural blends figurative imagery with locally sourced material, anchoring its colour and texture in the soil of the region. The work is a conversation about intercultural weddings, where two families stand at the threshold of a union. Each arrives carrying rituals, histories, and customs of their own. The painting holds the tension and beauty of this moment, the search for harmony between difference, and the weaving of traditions into a new beginning. The use of red-earth pigment reinforces a connection to land, memory and belonging.
Motion, animation and playfulness
Movement and motion are key themes in the Westown programme, embodied most prominently in the works of multi-disciplinary artist Iain “Ewok” Robinson. His Motion Murals (2025), created with aerosol spray paint, appear in narrow passages leading to ablutions on Level 3 of Westown Square. Robinson’s brief was to create imagery that would appear to be “in motion” as visitors walked past the walls. Drawing on early twentieth-century stop-frame animation of galloping horses, he developed a sequence of equine-inspired forms that animate with viewer movement – referencing both the equestrian heritage of the area and the cinematic origins of motion studies.
In addition, Robinson created a series of playful Peek-a-Boo interventions integrated into unexpected points across the public space – surprising moments that encourage curiosity, exploration and delight. His team included three other respected Durban street artists, Kevin Ngwenya, Riaaz Basson and Tatum Robinson, highlighting the programme’s collaborative ethos.
The Westown Square Public Art Programme demonstrates how multidisciplinary art practices– ranging from sculpture, murals and ceramics to poetry and craft – can unite in shaping a connected, culturally resonant built environment. Through a holistic strategy, the programme weaves together artworks that speak to local identity, architectural form, material heritage and contemporary artistic innovation. The result is a precinct that functions not only as a commercial space but as a vibrant cultural ecosystem: a place where art is integral, participatory and reflective of the community it serves.
Angela Shaw
November 2025
