Baz-Art and Flanders Partner to conduct a three-year research project exploring the impact of public art on local economies, placemaking, urban design, and sustainability
Baz-Art, a Western Cape-based organization that promotes public art and cultural exchange, has announced a three-year partnership with Flanders to promote the use of public art as a sustainable development strategy in Cape Town and the Western Cape.
The partnership between Baz-Art and Flanders aims to take unique learnings from Flanders to help quantify public art as a sustainable development strategy in Cape Town and the Western Cape. Through artmaking and showcasing, networking, innovation, and researching public art, the partnership seeks to measure and expand the potential of public art in the region.
As part of this partnership, Baz-Art will participate in The Crystal Ship festival, a renowned street art festival that takes place annually in Oostende, Belgium. The festival invites international and local artists to create large-scale murals, installations, and sculptures throughout the city’s public spaces.
Why Public Art as a development strategy?
The impact of public art is far-reaching and dynamic in nature. It is a tool for job creation, tourism stimulation, heritage celebration, placemaking, and honoring and unifying cultures. With the impact of the creative and cultural industries intimately overlapping the goals of the 17 SDGs, public art is now more important than ever.
Partnership overview – creating ties between SA and Belgium
Baz-Art and The Crystal Ship festival will serve as a platform for knowledge exchange, research, and innovation in the field of public art. The partnership will establish a network between Flanders and Cape Town to enable knowledge sharing, research, and innovation. It will also increase understanding of respective regions’ cultural identity and assist with increasing research regarding public art as a city growth strategy.
As part of the partnership, Flanders will be visible at the International Public Art Conference (IPAC) between 2023-2025, and it will be used as a case study for using public art as a successful city growth strategy. An academic study on the impact of public art in Western Cape and Flanders will also be published.
The partnership also aims to innovate public art in Western Cape through immersive teachings from Flemish artists. This skills exchange will ultimately ensure the health of the general CCI ecosystem and position public art as a tool for change and optimization.
We are delighted that the partnership between Baz-Art and Flanders, and our their involvement in The Crystal Ship festival, marks an important step towards promoting the use of public art as a sustainable development strategy in Cape Town and the Western Cape. Through this partnership, we can learn from each other’s unique experiences and expertise, and work towards creating vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable communities through public art.