The Newtown precinct remains unrivalled as a cultural hotspot in Johannesburg. It boasts a diverse and impressive group of cultural institutions, both state sanctioned and initiated by people in the area, and continues to attract creativity in all its forms. Centred on Mary Fitzgerald Square, the precinct is home to Museum Africa, The Market Theatre, and The Workers’ Museum, Sci-Bono, dance studios, artists’ studios and several restaurants and night spots, all of which contribute to the creative energy that defines the space. But perhaps what sets Newtown apart from other renewal projects in the city is the organic way in which all of these parts come together and sit side by side without any friction. There seems to be a laissez-fair atmosphere that enables creativity to flourish unrestricted. Only here can graffiti and other aspects of ‘street culture’ be so openly welcomed as an institution and live so comfortably alongside places of great historical and cultural significance like Museum Africa.

Street art and graffiti are contentious subjects and often exclusively associated with anti-social behaviour and held synonymous with urban decay. Through his graffiti tours Bongani sets out to show visitors that graffiti isn’t always illicit. His walking tour offers people the chance to view graffiti through different eyes. For him graffiti can also be understood as a form art that is available for everyone to view. But before anything can get underway Bongani discusses the history of graffiti and its inseparable relationship with hip-hop culture, a vehicle that has helped its growth in South Africa.

The first piece we encounter is a feast for the eyes. It is a little unconventional and shows off the touch of a sophisticated artist. It is a collection of knee-high rectangular concrete blocks on the rooftop of an underground parking. On each of these concrete pillars, the graffiti artist Mars has replicated his tag with immaculate mechanical precision to parallel the repetition of the pillars – a simple yet effective visual intervention. Around the corner we find a wall devoted to relative newcomers and the better known artists alike. Here the masters like Tapz, Mars and the rest of Demolition Squad are given equal footing as unknowns and only skill is the mark of a great artist.

Across the square underneath the M1 motorway, we find a shrine of graffiti. Every pillar is covered in murals by some of Jo’burgs finest and even some artists and crews invited from Cape Town as part of the annual Back to the City hip-hop festival. This year artists were asked to interpret what freedom means to them, a beautiful nod to the 20 years of democratic freedom the country celebrated in 2014. The festival, which happens every year on Freedom Day (27 April), is further testament to the freedom of expression embodied by Newtown. From here we head over to the Car Fax tunnel where we discover newer murals and tags since Bongani last visited and it is at that exact moment it becomes apparent that the beauty of such a tour is its ever changing quality. Every visit holds new possibilities and the potential to surprise.

What Bongani manages to do with his graffiti tours is nothing short of art. With this eye opener he blurs the lines between what art is and isn’t, but most impressively he is also making his own mark in a big way.