In an effort to uplift the community and prevent graffiti on the walls surrounding the church, learners and teachers at the Gelvandale Moravian Sunday School have placed their own stamp on the walls, by starting to decorate them with art.
Although not yet a finished product, a section of the walls has been covered with biblical art which includes two lambs carrying a cross, and a Bible with scripture.
The handprints of those involved with the project can also be seen in various colours across the walls, with their names written in the palms.
Principal of the Sunday School, Vernorene Jagers, has made a plea for residents to not vandalise their artworks, taking special consideration of the fact that a lot of time and effort had gone into the project.
She said that they wanted to create the art because members of the community were vandalising the walls with negative messages and graffiti.
“The wall was built for the protection and safety of the congregation of the church, but people made a dump site in front of the wall and vandalised it.
“We decided to do this to send out a positive message, and invite those who have lost their way back to church, and hopefully also for people to make a conscious decision not to destroy the wall,” said Jagers.
She added that they chose this wall section in Van Duuren Street specifically because it faces a busy road with lots of traffic passing by, and there is a stop sign on the corner.
Jagers believes that these artworks will mean a lot to the community, especially since they have been receiving positive feedback ever since they started.
“I think these paintings mean that the church is still here and still continuing to have services, and besides just going to church on Sunday we can uplift the community by doing projects like these.”
She explained that seven Sunday School teachers, 35 learners and two creative artists, Bryan Newfeldt and Devante Valentine, who offered to do this free of charge, were involved in the project.
Jagers felt that it is important to get a message across to discourage vandalism of the paintings on these walls.
Great was her shock when just two days after the artworks were done, minor acts of graffiti could be seen on two of the walls.
“One of my colleagues came to tell me. I was so shocked because we literally had the painting done just the other day. It is absolutely heartbreaking that people disrespect artwork like that and have no regard for the upliftment of the community,” she said.
“A lot of time and effort went into these paintings and vandalism is a crime, because it is damage to property. We are asking people to keep their hands clean and to do right by themselves and those that are trying to make a change in the community.”
Jagers said that despite this, their vision is to still complete the entire wall in this street with the hopes of deterring people trying to plaster graffiti on the walls by taking up all of the space.
“If you have a talent for drawing or painting, feel free to come and help us complete the rest of the wall,” she said.
