Durban: Dazed & Confused.

I recently made the decision to move back to my hometown of Durban, and have since been attacked with numerous anti-KZN rants. It seems as if the general consensus is that the East Coast is where dreams go to live and die - and, I'm its next victim.

Yes, I've got a steady 9-5. I live in a vibrant city, filled with creative souls, a thriving night life and a generous mountain to boot. I'm also able to walk around town on a Sunday morning, music plugged in and not a care in sight. Why would I want to leave this beaut of a city? Give a girl 8 years away from home, she grows, she learns and she eventually gets homesick. Cape Town will always be my special place, but Durban has precious souls, plates overflowing with love and heaps of nostalgia. 

Durban is the country’s third largest metropolis. It has amazing weather, cultural diversity and beautiful beaches. Yet, the city is always discounted for been the Black Sheep of SA, and never gets the respect it deserves. Sure, its a psychological mind fuck, doesn't have a mountain and is approximate 2 years behind CT/JHB, but its pretty damn seductive once you see through the cracks. Durban's that ugly Duckling who starts flourishing as she gets older, and I want to be a part of that process. Create. Add value. Leave some sort of legacy. 

Sure, Durban gets a lot of flack for leaving much to be desired when it comes to its creative scene. Its night life lacks imagination, its architecture is rather questionable and its people don't always support their own. Durban doesn't love itself. Basically. Its a city that has so much to offer - think talented artists, burgeoning musicians and some of the best cuisine I've ever tasted - but, its kids often don't take the time to appreciate its authenticity. 

This isn't Cape Town or Johannesburg, and the streets aren't glorified into some pseudo Yellow Brick Road. But, before you start complaining about how much you hate this city, about its backward culture or the lack of progression, start paying a little attention to its growing underground community of local artists, designers and creatives.  

What most people fail to see is that there's an emerging creative energy in Durban; a talented group of visionaries, who are committed to carving out a niche for themselves in the 031. Durban produces some of the best talent in the country, yet these artists often leave to forge their paths elsewhere. I'm tired of complaining about a city, about its backward culture and its boxed up mindsets - I'd rather join the struggle and help change this. The creative creatures of Durbs are hungry and know how to play a good game - they just need a little more support from their own humans. 


“Durban is dazed and confused. It has no idea what it is. It is a truly African city in the sense that it is a fruit salad; a point of multiple connections, which means you don't have a preconception of what the city is, you can make it what you want it to be. If you look beyond the obvious, and you actually look for stuff you’ll find a culture on our streets that is the lifeblood for designers, everything you’ll ever possibly need to know is on our streets, in townships and graveyards."