Budding artist's parting gift to PE

A PROMISING young Port Elizabeth designer is creating a massive mural painting as a parting gift of sorts before leaving for Cape Town to take up a job with one of South Africa's top advertising, marketing and public relations agencies.

The mural, consisting of flowers and leaves, has been taking shape at the Athenaeum in Central.

Artist and designer Pola Maneli, 23, assisted by Damelin graphic design student Thembalethu King, 24, began working on the mural last Tuesday.

With the theme, "Power of Play", the two hope to share creativity and fun with passers-by and all who visit the Belmont Terrace venue.

The mural is part of a larger initiative by the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and the Mandela Bay Development Agency, which received a grant from the Department of Arts and Culture for graffiti public art.

Maneli, an NMMU graphic design graduate, recently won two Loerie awards at the annual Design Indaba in Cape Town. He is due to leave Port Elizabeth today, having been offered a position as artistic director with the Cape Town branch of leading international agency Ogilvy & Mather.

"I love Central," Maneli said. "It inspires me. There are so many different cultures and people here. This painting brings out a sense of poetry and is sure to make people smile."

The mural will be finished later this week. - Chanice Koopman