Murals can have the power to change the nature of public spaces. Do you know of any mural or artwork in a public space familiar to you, that has affected the way people use that space, or feel about its history?

Galeshewe Township, in Kimberley in the Northern Cape, was named after Chief Galeshewe – who led an uprising in the late 1890’s against the forced killing of cattle insisted upon by white farmers, who feared disease. (Chief Galeshewe was recognised more than a hundred years later for his courage and leadership, and awarded the Order of the Mendi.) In Galeshewe Township today, walls have become places where artists commemorate more recent (and often bitter) local history. These artworks have changed the nature of the space, memorialising community heroes, who thus live on in local memory. On the next pages, you will read about an example of one such young leader.