URBAN ART

Art and architecture have always had a close connection to each other. There are, however, forms of art, whose existence depend solely on the built environment. An artform that probably wouldn’t have been around were it not for the presence of built and unbuilt structures. Graffiti and street art, whether legal or illegal, have undeniably made a change in the urban fabric of cities around the world. The power of this urban art lies in the fact that it is seen by people of all walks of life, and it is unselective of social, economic, political or cultural background. This opposed to most of the art displayed in museums that are only visited by a select few. Taking that urban art thus has an impact on the environment within which it is placed, and on the spectators: the people who see the artworks, an interesting question to ask is in what way Urban art can influence the urban fabric of the city? And in what way can it play a positive role in urban regeneration?

Even though different forms of street art have been around since ancient history, modern-day urban art began to become popular in the 60s / 70s. Back then something called ‘tagging’ was most common, where graffiti artists ‘tagged’ inner city walls, trainlines or any flat surface they could find in the city streets with their signature. However, with the emergence of different movements and social activism, street-artists started using street art as a platform to show their ideas to a wider audience.

At first the general opinion about street art was negative, as it was associated with gangs and it often was created on buildings without permission. Over the years the opinion of street art has shifted. Urban art has become an established form of art, with artists exposing their work in big museums and selling canvasses for high prices. Examples being Banksy and Keith Haring. Initially, street art was associated with a degradation

of public space, but now people are using it with the purpose of regenerating neighbourhoods. Especially in city neighbourhoods and towns where urban planning and the importance of visual aesthetics created by art and architecture have been neglected, to say the least, street art can prove useful in the process of urban regeneration.

One very interesting example of street art having a positive effect on a neighbourhood can be seen in the Favela Painting Project. The Favela project is run by the Firmeza foundation that was founded by the Dutch artists Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn (also known as Haas&Hahn). The principle of the Favela foundation is to create works of art to regenerate the poor Favela neighbourhoods with the help of local participation. A good description of their main ambitions can be read on their website.

‘’Favela Painting builds bridges between community art, urban planning and social design, creating multifaceted social impact with a lasting legacy. Over the years, Favela Painting has become a creative laboratory implementing art to unite, empower and contribute to an inclusive world.’’

In the image below, you can see their third project. This project was established in a place called Praça Cantão in the neighbourhood of Santa Maria. The project consisted of painting the façades of 30 houses. By doing so 25 people of the local community were employed, and it also involved training the local youth to paint. With the effort of the community, the painting was completed within a month. Like the Praça Cantão project, many other inspiring works of urban art were realised through this foundation. Empowering local communities to participate together, and with joint effort creating something lively and colourful. And this is only one example of street art helping urban renewal. Another project worth mentioning are the murals seen in the district of Barriera di Milano in the Italian city Turin. The murals by the artist Millo have helped rejuvenating and drawing attention to an otherwise unknown neighbourhood.

Along with these projects, there are many other initiatives around the world, where artists are working together with local communities and authorities to create urban art to help regenerate neglected neighbourhoods. Even though these artworks may not solve all the problems that occur in disadvantaged areas, they might bring some joy, colour and sense of community into a neighbourhood that it otherwise would not have had. //

SOURCES

- In Good Taste. (2017). The Evolution of Street Art. Geraadpleegd op 8 september 2019, van https://www.invaluable.com/blog/theevolution-of-street-art/ - Favela Painting Foundation. (2010). favela painting. Geraadpleegd op 20 oktober 2019, van https://favelapainting. com/ - Millo . (z.d.). Millo_artist. Geraadpleegd op 8 september 2019, van https://www.millo.biz/ - Tunnacliffe, C. M. (2016). The power of urban street art in renaturing urban imaginations and experiences. (ISSN 1474-3280). Geraadpleegd van https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/development/ sites/bartlett/files/migrated-files/WP_182_Claire_Malaika_T_ June_0.pdf

Image 1: Mortensen, J. (2017). The Origin of Spray Paint [Foto]. Geraadpleegd van https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/ magazine/who-made-spray-paint.html Image 2: Favela Painting Foundation. (2010). favela painting [Foto]. Geraadpleegd op 20 oktober 2019, van https://favelapainting. com/