Along the Way is a book inspired by Doung Anwar Jahangeer‘s CityWalk. In December 2007 a call went out to Durban’s creative community inviting proposals for an upcoming art festival, Cascoland. Under the theme of “mobility,” the festival was to take place along a specified route with the aim of interaction with public space. As we walked the city it became apparent that the route was less about the buildings, walls and roads—the traditional infrastructure of the city—and more about the people we met along the way. We decided to focus on these people, to celebrate their lives in some small way.
With only a few short weeks to complete this project, we immersed ourselves in the community: walking the streets and talking to anyone and everyone. People with fascinating stories—that they were happy to share—inhabited the route. The key to this wealth of insight was simply a smile and a friendly “hello.”
The notion of mobility suggests something fleeting and personal; a journey is only ever a series of fragmented moments, of sights, smells and sensations. Likewise, this little book is nothing more than a subjective snapshot—a glimpse into just ten of the three-and-a-half million interwoven worlds that make up our city. Creating it has given us a greater understanding of this city we call home. We hope this experience is shared with our readers.