Thirty years ago, before the end of apartheid, Observatory was one of the few places where different races could mix with more freedom than elsewhere in South Africa.

On the evening of the 30th of December 1993, one day before New Years Eve, and just a few short months before the first democratic elections in South Africa, three members of the Azanian People’s Liberation Army (APLA) launched an attack on the Heidelberg Tavern, just off Station Road in Observatory. 

Lost In Obs is a temporary artwork created for Streetopia in 2023 that aims to bring the story of the Heidelberg Tavern, and the voices of the people involved and affected back to the streets of Observatory.

In the artwork, these stories and voices have been woven into the streets around Observatory, subverting traditional signage and wayfaring iconography and illustrating the importance of the Heidelberg Tavern to viewers ... Road signs usually help you when you’re lost, they now also help when a story has been lost.

We believe that making Lost in Obs permanent would not only preserve a piece of local creativity but also contribute to the history and culture that makes Observatory unique.

We are calling on local Cape Town authorities to recognise the value this artwork brings to the Obs community by making it permanent. By doing so, they would be supporting local artists and enriching the Obs cultural landscape for generations to come.

Please sign this petition if you believe in preserving history through artistic storytelling and maintaining the creative character of Observatory, Cape Town.