yourcityspeaks:

Street art has existed in cities for centuries: creative marks in public spaces often by anonymous faces; art free of official sanction. Street art, street performance and street theatre appear as organic modes of expression, grown in the streets, climbing on to the walls from the pavements, and touching the everyday urban subconscious. Enduring works of street art have become city symbols, even tourist attractions.

The word ‘graffiti’ has its roots in the Italian word ‘graffiare’ – to scratch or carve – and generally refers to any form of public marking. This form of urban expression dates back to Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire and Mesopotamia. Graffiti has long been associated with alternative forms of expression, strongly linked with the growth of subcultures and political resistance. However, these alternative modes of expression have become so popular that they have even been appropriated by commercial advertising. The work of street artists such as Banksy has been shown in established art galleries, ‘legitimising’ it as a genre of art.

Now cities around the world host annual street art festivals, when well-known artists are invited from around the world [or just show up]. The streets become an open gallery with no closing hours, and each empty space becomes a canvas. The open spirit of street art emphasises the importance of each individual’s interaction with society and their surroundings.

El Guitarrista’ by El Mac, 2011 - Avant-Garde Urbano, an international festival of artistic interventions in the urban space, is held in Tudela de Navarra, Spain. LA-based artist El Mac described this piece on his blog: ‘The mural was painted in an old Gypsy neighbourhood… the history and culture in this area runs deep. Christians, Jews and Muslims have all shaped the identity of old Tudela, and it was inspiring to soak some of this in’.

Dan Witz - Nuart is an annual street art festival based in Stavanger on the West Coast of Norway. This artwork is by American artist Dan Witz.

Phlegm - At Nuart. This artwork is by British artist Phlegm.

Branimirova Street graffiti wall - MUU street art museum is a project dedicated to forming a more coherent street art scene in Croatia. It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In 2010 Branimirova Street was transformed in a MUU project to bring art into neglected areas of the city.

Images:
El Mac at Avant-Garde Urbano 2011, 5 October 2011, Creative Commons license. Image by Ana Alvarez-Errecalde and Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, flickr.
Dan Witz installations, 29 September 2011, Creative Commons license. Image by kalevkevad, flickr. 
Work by Phlegm, 29 September 2011, Creative Commons license. Image by kalevkevad, flickr. 
Branimirova Street graffiti wall, 28 September 2011. Image by Josephine Dorado, flickr. 

This post is an excerpt from ‘The City Speaks’ exhibition.

yourcityspeaks:

THIS FRIDAY IN GENEVA!!

yourcityspeaks:

Before I die… - The ‘wall of dreams’ at The City Speaks exhibition in the Museum of Copenhagen.

yourcityspeaks:

Welcome to The City Speaks, Copenhagen.

The exhibition has been open in the Museum of Copenhagen since the 6th of July, and will close on the 2nd of September.

The Museum also installed its on ‘Before I die…’ wall, inspired by Candy Chang.

Hurry, only a few days left to visit the exhibition in Copenhagen…

yourcityspeaks:

In 1958 vicious race riots erupted across London with violent attacks on newly arrived migrants throughout the summer – the culmination of a decade of escalating racial tension.

In January of the following year, a community ‘Mardi Gras’ event took place in St Pancras Town Hall – the brainchild of Claudia Cumberbatch Jones. She saw the carnival as a unifying force of hope and reconciliation, its joyful spirit captured by the slogan that decorated the hall: ‘A people’s art is the genesis of their freedom’.

Claudia Jones was a feminist, a black nationalist, political activist, community leader, communist and journalist – and was later to become known as the Mother of Notting Hill. This passionate civil rights activist turned her community leadership skills towards improving race relations and working with London’s Afro-Caribbean community. She founded the West Indian Gazette in 1958, Britain’s first black weekly newspaper.

The 1959 carnival was the first step in Claudia Jones’ vision and the event grew over the next few years until in 1964, with the efforts of local social worker Rhuane Laslett, the first outdoor carnival laid its roots in Notting Hill. The history of the carnival is by no means an easy one, marred by violence and clashes with the police in the 1970s. Today however, Notting Hill Carnival is a symbol of London’s diversity and one of the most multicultural carnivals in the world, bringing together traditions from the Caribbean, South America, Asia and Europe.

Images: 
‘Notting Hill Carnival 2011 [7]’ by Valters Krontals, flickr, Creative Commons license
‘Notting Hill Carnival 2011 [57]’ by Valters Krontals, flickr, Creative Commons license
‘Caribbean Carnival’, 1959 event brochure and ‘In memory of Claudia Jones poster’, 1965.  Reproduced with permission from Marika Sherwood, author of ‘Claudia Jones: A biography’ (2000)

This post is an excerpt from The City Speaks exhibition.

yourcityspeaks:

DESTINATIONS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Over the next few months the exhibition will be travelling through at least nine countries including:

• Slovenia
• Denmark
• Switzerland
• Germany
• France
• Greece
• Malta
• Sweden
• Finland

Watch this space to find out more…

yourcityspeaks:

Between 1994 and 2008, a trio of mural painters painted a total of 12 murals stretching the entire length of Rossville Street in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland. With art supplies donated by local residents, the 12 murals – which they named The People’s Gallery – depicted the events surrounding sectarian violence and civil rights protests in Northern Ireland during the time known as ‘The Troubles’.

The Bogside area of Derry was a focal point for key events during The Troubles, including the Battle of the Bogside and Bloody Sunday in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, when Kevin Hasson and brothers Tom and William Kelly began The People’s Gallery, there was still no end to the conflict in sight. It wasn’t until 1998 when a peace agreement was finally reached that the process of reconciliation could truly begin.

The murals depict the violent reality of The Troubles, yet also capture the spirit of hope for peace and reconciliation. For the trio, the murals were created to give a voice to the community. 

Kevin, Tom and William continue to spread their message and have travelled to cities across the world to paint their murals of peace and reconciliation. They also continue to run art workshops with local Catholic and Protestant children in Derry, promoting cross community understanding.

Images:
Bogside Artists, ‘Peace’, 2004. This mural was completed on July 30, 2004 and was unveiled by the then Mayor of Derry. It is situated on Rossville Street in the Bogside area of Derry, Northern Ireland.
Bogside Artists, ‘Rioter’, 2001. This mural was started in August 2001 and is situated on Rossville Street in the Bogside area of Derry. The scene depicted is typical of many riots that happened in Bogside from 1969 and throughout the early 1970s.

This post is an excerpt from ‘The City Speaks’ exhibition. 

yourcityspeaks:

The young Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto, aka Vhils, has become famous for his stunning murals of old and young faces that reveal the previously undiscovered histories of buildings. Vhils’s works are closely connected to the social and physical environment of Lisbon, where he tears down advertising hoardings to create new works of art that are inspired in part by the city’s homeless and poverty-stricken.

‘With my work, I try to delve into the several layers that compose the edifice of history, to take the shadows cast by this model of uniform development to try and understand what lies behind it.’ 

Images:
‘Scratching the Surface’, Moscow, 2005 - Portuguese street artist Alexandre Farto aka Vhils has etched his mark in buildings across Europe. 
‘Empty Faces’, 2003 - Advertising posters are torn away to make fresh images, and faces appear from within the walls. By re-contextualising urban settings, Vhils explores and questions the many dimensions of cities and their inhabitants. 

This post is an excerpt from ‘The City Speaks’ exhibition.

yourcityspeaks:

Last week ‘The City Speaks’ was officially launched in Maribor, this year’s European Capital of Culture. 

The Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament visited the exhibition, and were given a personal tour by the Maslaha team. 

The event also featured speeches from Suzana Žilič Fišer, Director-General of Maribor 2012, Andrew Page, the UK Ambassador to Slovenia, and James Hampson, Director of the British Council in Slovenia. The exhibition was also visited by Žiga Turk, the Minister for Education, Science, Culture and Sport.

Set against a backdrop of music from The Selector DJs (the British Council’s international radio station) and live graffiti from Rick Cosmo (aka Miha Kosmač), Maribor set an exciting precedent for the other cities across Europe which will host the exhibition over the coming months.

We also had a look around Ljubljana while we were there and have begun making exciting plans for the exhibition once its hits Slovenia’s capital this autumn…