With under 200 days to go to the Netball World Cup, the City of Cape Town has unveiled its eighth mural – the second in Mitchell’s Plain.
Players from local schools joined officials at the launch on Thursday 23 March at Stephan Regan Sports Complex, where the 12,5m x 4m painting was created by Mitchell’s Plain born-artist Maxwell Southgate, known as MAK10NE, in collaboration with another local mural artist Dfeat Once.
Adorned in the colours of the Netball World Cup 2023, the artwork wraps the wall of the netball facility with imagery showcasing netball, Cape Town and women’s upliftment. Similar paintings have already been unveiled in Langa, Khayelitsha, Strand, Bellville South, Mitchells Plain’s Portlands Indoor Centre and Atlantis.
“We are less than 200 days away from the first match of the first Netball World Cup on African soil, and it is important for the City of Cape Town to play its role in ensuring that we get as many people involved in the spirit of this international showpiece. These murals are more than just beautifying these public spaces but they are a reminder that we are capable of contending with the best in the world and also serve as inspiration for young netball players who aspire to compete at that level,” says JP Smith, the City’s Mayco member for safety and security.
“It is also fitting that we are bringing the Netball World Cup spirit to the Stephen Reagan Sports Complex because this is the home of the Mitchell’s Plain Netball Union and the facility hosts clubs from the largest sub-district in the Cape. The players who call this place home are the intended beneficiaries of the Netball World Cup and we hope this can inspire them.”
Ward 81 councillor, Ashley Potts says psychology speaks to imaging that projects positive affirmation, which is what murals like these are doing for the community.
Both men and women will enjoy this new atmosphere, as many had already indicated in their vote of thanks on the day.
“We are wanting to beautify our spaces with positive messaging. Helping to create subliminal messaging and also conscious messaging is critical in helping people shift from their current circumstances, environment or atmosphere and position themselves into another sphere. This does that for you as an individual,” he says.
“Netball in itself has a lot of value. A lot of concentration is needed to play the sport and with the surroundings now impacted with a good message and image that lifts the spirits of the athletes, it will create a better atmosphere for the game. It pulls people closer to the sport itself and grows the interest in the sport.”
Potts continues that using murals displaying positive messages through an image or word will go a long way in creating an environment where focus on the goals is encouraged.
The mural is just the latest addition to the Stephen Reagan Sports Complex netball facilities, which have undergone extensive upgrades over the last three years.
These include the installation of prefab ablutions and change rooms in a joint project between the City’s Recreation and Parks Department and the Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport.
“We are grateful to be able to support these important facilities that will create opportunities for Netball as a sport and for the many players in the community.
“We support these mural initiatives to increase awareness in the lead-up to a great sporting event,” says the City’s Mayco member for community services and health, Patricia van der Ross.
In the last financial year, the Recreation and Parks Department also completed an R1,8 million upgrade to the four courts with a Fibre-Flex playing surface.
To ensure that the netball players enjoyed extended hours of play on the popular courts, the department also installed floodlights making it possible to play at night.
