De Doorns Primary School mural turns heads
12 August 2021
Learners at the newly constructed De Doorns Primary School have access to well-appointed facilities and spectacular views which include a large-scale mural by muralist Aweh Migo, also known as Garth Wareley.
Construction of the school was completed towards the end of April and the Western Cape Education Department’s Infrastructure Division commissioned the artwork through Zander Thomson of VKDB Architects to create pride and buy in from the community.
The school is situated in one of the Western Cape’s most impoverished communities, in the middle of the informal settlement called Stofland in De Doorns. The school is visible from the N1 highway with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains.
Hayley Ittmann, Programme Manager: WCED Infrastructure Delivery, said throughout the construction process she has been astounded by how much this community values education with the sentiment being raised at multiple community engagements that the community wanted to help provide a bright future for their children.
In an interview with Visi magazine, Wareley said inspiration struck during a workshop with Nathan Mayne, an associate professor in astrophysics and planetary climates at the University of Exeter in the UK. “The De Doorns mural is a celebration of children’s endless imagination, and the true potential they could reach if nurtured. I hope that when people see it, they’ll feel encouraged to get out there and play – regardless of their age.”
Wareley has been creating murals for nearly 20 years and said the De Doorns mural, Soar, was one of his favourite pieces to date. “It turned out to be an awesome adventure that I got to share with my brother, Matthew, who assisted me with the wall and also shot all the images.”
De Doorns Primary School consists of several loose standing buildings on a site with extensive level differences. The school can accommodate 1 240 learners, including 120 Grade R learners
