Street artists Mook Lion and Andisiwe Matha are putting their creative slant to work by turning unkempt areas around Port Alfred into colourful, creative spaces.
The local artists have been commissioned to turn the electrical substation building in Causeway Road into a colourful work of art that will feature two life-size murals of late iconic Eastern Cape musicians, Margaret Mcingana and Zahara.
“We are fine artists and street artists,” said Lion. We are doing the mural to celebrate musicians from the Eastern Cape so people can realise that there are these great artists who hail from here.
“We are trying to repurpose wasted space; this is an electricity [sub]station with not much going on around it and we are going to turn it into an area of cultural interest. We are adding energy into public spaces in Port Alfred.”
Mook Lion, whose real name is Daniel Chapman, has been involved with revitalisation projects at several sites in Makhanda and similar street art initiatives are on the go in Gqeberha and Qonce. In Port Alfred, Chapman has taken on mural art projects in Wharf Rd, at the Port Alfred River and Ski-boat Club, and public amenities in Beach Road and East Beach.
“People are excited to see our projects. Human beings need to see art – there is emotional and psychological value to experiencing art. When they see the murals people start to feel connected to their environment.”
Chapman and Matha say doing mural art is similar to working on canvas in a studio but different in many ways too.
“It’s very much based on the same principles but it’s just that we are out here in the weather … we have to be careful because we are in a public space; we have to climb up and down ladders … there’s a more physical aspect to it.
“We have got to prepare the surface, clean it up and then put on an undercoat and primer. We have to organise the material … such as the paint. We use spray paint, acrylic paint, enamel paint, and each paint has its own strengths and weaknesses.”
Artist Carmen Brander-Kemp who is a project volunteer, having run her own artist management agency in the past, has been a key role-player in several of the Port Alfred street art projects.
“I have worked with Mook before, such as the Ski-Boat Club’s whale mural project,” said Brander-Kemp.
“When Mook phoned up to ask if there were any more creative street art projects in the offing, I called on local tourism committee role-players, Dr Wouter Hensens and Clinton Millard who were only happy to assist with this project.
“Once we got the go-ahead from the authorities to do the mural art, thanks to them, we chose as a theme to honour musicians with roots in the Eastern Cape.
“We would especially like to uplift the informal trading area around the electricity substation. We as artists need to use our skills to promote the town – which is good for tourism”.
Chapman said AfriChili Entertainment had commissioned the project with funding assistance from the department of sports art & recreation.
Sunshine Tourism Committee chairperson, Wouter Hensens, said Port Alfred’s mural art project had started under former PA Residents and Ratepayers’ Association chairperson, Lindsay Luppnow, three years ago.
“We were excited about the project and many buildings have been beautified in that way. About two months ago I started speaking to Carmen. We spoke about how lovely these murals were and my wish would be to continue that on buildings that would look a lot better for locals and visitors.
“Within one or two weeks she came forward with an artist who had secured funding for this project and we helped them find a suitable venue and got permission from the municipality for them to get going.”
Hensens said he hoped that there would be many more interesting projects in the pipeline. “Funding is always a challenge because it’s not cheap to do this properly but in this case it was funded already and all we had to do is get the building and permissions and we look forward to the result.”
The mural art project is scheduled for completion tomorrow (Friday).
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This article was first published in Talk of the Town, October 30, 2025. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays
