The Johannesburg Development Agency has joined the world to celebrate Madiba’s life and legacy in changing the world for the better. In honour of the late struggle hero, we highlight three projects commissioned by the JDA, the lead implementing agent of the City of Johannesburg, which continue his legacy.
Iconic Mandela Bridge
From 2001 to 2005, the JDA has implemented several iconic infrastructure projects, including the Nelson Mandela Bridge. The bridge links the trendy Braamfontein and Newtown precincts, two areas that have grown to become arts, heritage and cultural hubs.
It is 284 metres long, 42 metres high in the north and 27 metres in the south. Engineers used structural steel with a concrete composite deck to keep the bridge light in weight. It took 18 months to build, and the late former president opened it on 20 July 2003, two days after his 85th birthday.
Some interesting facts about the bridge:
• A 420 000-labour hour project
• Stay cables totalling 81 000 meters in length
• There are 42 railway lines underneath the bridge
• It can accommodate over 3 000 vehicles an hour
Madiba the Shadow Boxer
The JDA made it central to its 2011-16 public art strategy to bring art into the public spaces and daily reach of the public to foster rich culture and history.
In May 2013, the six-meter-tall, painted steel Nelson Mandela Shadow Boxer sculpture by Marco Cianfanelli was unveiled. Cianfanelli used a photograph of the young Mandela shadowboxing on a nearby inner-city rooftop.
The Shadow Boxer statue is outside the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court and right across Chancellor House, where Mandela and fellow struggle icon Oliver Reginald Tambo established their Mandela & Tambo law firm in 1950.
The JDA commissioned the Shadow Boxer assisted by the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory and the Bailey African History Archive.
Below are some interesting facts about the statue:
• The statue has words by Mandela: “In the ring, rank, age, colour and wealth are irrelevant.”
• It is six-meter tall and made up of layers of painted metal sheets, creating a 3D effect.
Mandela Exhibition at Constitution Hill
One of the first tasks given to the JDA in its first five years of operation was to transform the old Johannesburg Fort into a home of South Africa’s highest court. The Constitution Hill development is the Robben Island of Johannesburg, a cultural, historical and tourist attraction.
In 2004, Constitution Hill got a facelift. Today is a centre for creative expression, art, dialogue and inclusion, as well as a museum and events space.
Constitution Hill is also home to the permanent Mandela Gandhi digital exhibition. The exhibition, curated by author and artist Birad Yajnik, highlights the similarities between Mandela and Gandhi, even though they lived in different times.
The exhibition showcases the following:
• Mandela’s visits and emotional connection with the Indian people.
• His incarceration on Robben Island and the Old Fort prison at Constitution Hill.
• Handwritten communication with the outside world.
27/07/2022