Nelson Mandela said: "If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart."

A CALL FOR VALUE WORDS TO BE INCLUDED IN AN ARTWORK ENTITLED THE WALK OF WORDS WHICH WILL SHORTLY BE INSTALLED IN JETTY STREET AS PART OF THE ROUTE 67 PUBLIC ART PROJECT

As part of the MBDA's recently launched Route 67, which celebrates the contribution of Nelson Mandela to the public life of South Africa, a range of artworks have been commissioned and completed. The next artwork that is to be made is called the WALK OF WORDS. it is to be createdby a group of young, up and coming ceramic artists.

They are going to make beautifully crafted hand-made tiles onto which a range of special, meaningful words and phrases will be engraved and carved, words that honour the values that Nelson Mandela stands for, words and phrases that identify the positive values that you and I, as ordinary citizens, would like to see as the foundation on which we build our collective futures…

WHAT ARE VALUES: personal or cultural values are the preferences that guide our actions, that reflect our sense of what is 'right' and 'what ought to be'….the ideas and beliefs we hold as special and 'right'. Caring for others is a value, as is fairness, and freedom of expression, respect., Ubuntu, eerlikheid… there are many many more words to describe the values we consider as special.

We are asking YOU, as the people of the metro, to help the artists by contributing the words that you would like to see included – words like integrity, eerlikheid, Ubuntu…. In Xhosa, in English, in Afrikaans….in fact in any of the languages used in the metro. We will invite a panel of local personalities to make a final selection from the words the public submits, then these special tiles will be crafted and installed as a WALK OF WORDS – a celebratory 'artwalk' of tiles set into the newly restored paving in Jetty Street, an artwork in honour of Nelson Mandela and the values he stands for, an artwork with content chosen by the people of the metro.

Once the artwork is installed towards the end of November you can come and read the value words that you and your fellow citizens have chosen as the bedrock on which to build the the future.

DEADLINE FOR YOUR VALUE WORDS TO REACH US:
7 NOVEMBER 2011

EMAIL YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:
valuewords@nmmu.ac.za or SMS 083 287 8551