Last Updated on February 12, 2024 by Travelationship
“What’s the difference between tagging and vandalism,” asked Juma. He let us ponder it for a moment and replied, “Tagging is when you add something without changing the piece, whereas vandalism alters the artwork’s original idea, message, or intent.” That was the moment Juma transformed from being a docent reciting a stale tour to being a guide leading us on an expedition through his community. It was apparent that Juma lived and breathed the street art in front of us; he was as much a part of it as he was of him.
The last time we were in Cape Town was five years ago. The weather was cold, rainy, and windy. Most of our time was spent either indoors or driving the Cape Peninsula. We do remember driving past some murals and noting that we needed to look into the street art scene the next time we were in town. Upon our return to Cape Town, the first adventure we scheduled was a tour with Juma Mkwela of Juma Art Tours to guide us through the sea of art in the Woodstock area.
Juma Art Tours
To understand the importance of art in Woodstock, one needs to know how it came to be. The Woodstock Exchange, once the Woodstock Industrial Center, lies at the center of this story, much like it marks the heart of Woodstock itself. Once home to artists, designers, and small-scale manufacturers, it was sold to developers who came in and turned it into a retail and dining hub, leaving its previous occupants looking for new digs. Many chose to stay in the neighborhood, creating the base for one of the best street art movements we have seen. Approximately 110 pieces throughout the area have an unheard-of shelf life; some are coming into their fifth year. In some cities, artists’ works are vandalized hours or days after they appear, but having a community that respects and promotes each other is inspiring.
Juma has been giving tours of his neighborhood since 2012 and believes colorful streets are like walking in the light. “We paint to inspire ourselves to inspire others,” says Juma about the movement that has put Woodstock on the map. Woodstock used to be known for a very different reason, a place even the police would hesitate to enter. Now you will find a district shaking away its checkered past and rising as an example of what can happen. Walking the art-lined streets with Juma, we felt safe, but it was also apparent that had we been on our own with our cameras hanging out, we would not have regarded ourselves as secure. With that said, yes, we would still visit and walk Woodstock on our own. The area has so much to offer. We wouldn’t take all our gear with us.
Travelasics
How to Book with Juma
Website info: Township Art Tours
Cost: R200pp and up, depending on the tour of our choosing
Meeting Place: Front entrance of Woodstock Exchange or designated place agreed upon between you and Juma
Travelationship Rating:
4 out of 5 Travelationship High Fives. We would like to see Juma’s website provide more detailed information about each tour. When we arrived, he explained the art routes are split into two sections. We toured section one, which covered many pieces East of Woodstock Exchange. We would have scheduled differently if we knew there were two parts and a lot more art to see. Type of traveler rating – adventure, historical, bucket lister, street art, local.
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* Thank you to Juma for the complimentary tour. As always, our opinions are ours – honest, not biased, and as we experienced.
Thank you so much for sharing. This is incredibly creative side of Cap town. I love the way you captured the essence of art in the city. And I would love to take Juma Art Tour whenever I visit South Africa in future.
You are welcome. Glad to hear it.
I have never been on a street art tour but this looks like one I would be interested in. Juma seems to be knowledgable. Awesome murals and street art
Juma knew the history and the area. Plus him knowing almost everyone in the neighborhood helped us feel even more welcome.
I haven’t been on a street art tour yet, but this is something I would definitely love to do. I love celebrating art every chance I get.
Highly recommend this tour, but lots of street art tours around the world. We’ve done a few and this one was one of our favs.
I’m a huge street art fan – I must say, though, that the floral/flowerpot instalments are an incredibly gorgeous (and eco-friendly) way to spruce up an urban jungle!
Juma has taken the urban garden idea into the townships to help beautify the areas in the city and out.
I love street art and it gets even better when you have someone who can explain the history behind the murrials. Would love to do that tour!
Highly recommend it. We really liked it and came away so inspired by the art and the stories.
I love taking such art tours and what better than Cape Town for such activities. Rhino and Elephant ones are my favourite!
Elephants and Rhinos are popular street art subjects all around South Africa.
Love street art! There’s a spot in São Paulo, Brazil which is quite similar. I’ve always wanted to go to Cape Town but I had no idea street art like this existed there. Another excuse to visit 😉
We have heard great things of the street art in Brazil. Hope to see it next year.
The street art in Cape Town looks amazing. I hope to see it in person one day.
We hope you do, too.
I’ve recently started looking into street art (in both Bogota, Colombia & Bristol, England). I’ve never been one for art museums, but I love how accessible the art is when it’s graffiti or street art. Thanks for sharing another great place to check it out.
All great places for Street Art. Learning about the artists or the area makes it more interesting.
Really cool post – love the pics too. I went on a street art tour in London a few months ago and it was such an amazing way to learn about my home city. It’s crazy how much art there is everywhere, and sometimes you don’t end up noticing it at all!
Thank you. Glad you liked it
Awesome – I love street art tours and have heard before that Cape Town is great in terms of that! I’ll pin this to my Africa inspiration board as I hope to take some time off for extensive travel around the continent one day 😀
We consider it a “Must Do” for any street art lover. Enjoy!
This is making me want to visit again!
🙂 Cape Town always deserves another visit. Go for it.
That is some incredible street art guys and to do it with a tour guide, understanding what each murial represents is pretty awesome, especially for such a place like Cape Town. You have inspired me to see if anything like this is available in Rome 🙂 Grazie and safe travels!
Let us know what you find out!!!
Fascinating street art, creativity and ingenuity at its heights.
Yes, really fantastic. And they are adding more weekly.
Responsible artists add a new dimension to their city! Nice!
It really does. The Woodstock area used to be the most dangerous neighborhood and now it’s grown into an artistic hub.
Street Art tours are fantastic, I attended one in London and really enjoyed it. I didn’t know Cape town had them too, would love to attend!
Highly recommend taking the tour. Learning about the artists and history of the area really added a wonderful dimension to the experience.
This is one of the coolest collections and tours I’ve read about. I’ve seen other street art tours that don’t sound as interesting.
We have taken quite a few street art tours and would rate this as either our fav… or at least top 2. Part of what made it so interesting was to learn about how the neighborhood has changed from really dangerous to up and coming artsy. And the residents embrace the art. Lots of houses are painted with full murals. I wouldn’t recommend walking the area alone with all your camera gear, but with Juma we felt very safe.