THE CARPET TOUR CONTINUES - FIGHTING BOREDOM WITH PAINT AND STENCILS IN A REFUGEE CENTER IN HEERHUGOWAARD
THE CARPET TOUR CONTINUES
FIGHTING BOREDOM WITH PAINT AND STENCILS IN A REFUGEE CENTER IN HEERHUGOWAARD
In February 2020, United Painting was invited by De Vrolijkheid, a network of professional artists who bring dance, music, theater and art to refugee centers, to start a series of artistic interventions in azc Heerhugowaard, a Dutch center for asylum seekers.
By organizing workshops, we involve a group of 15 residents in a step by step transformation of the communal areas on site that were perceived as particularly gloomy. Using our specific design based on patterns, those involved can pick their favorites and becomes a designer him/herself and experience a true sense of ownership. Adding fast results, expanding networks and gaining more experience in the painting process, motivation is high among the participants. Hopefully we will soon continue and paint the entire building!
Sami Youssef, resident azc Heerhugowaard:
‘I really enjoy painting with you guys, there’s not a lot to do in and around this azc and I’m in my room most of the time. Your project gives me the chance to make something beautiful whilst occupying myself. Call me whenever you guys have a project somewhere!’
Mile Salic, assistant location manager at the Heerhugowaard refugee center:
‘Ever since the walls across the consulting rooms have been painted, we have noticed a significant change in the perception of those dreaded rooms. The atmosphere has improved a lot and we receive a lot of positive feedback from our residents’.
WE ARE HERE AND UNITED PAINTING JOIN FORCES TO PAINT GREY OFFICE BUILDING THAT SERVES AS A TEMPORARY SHELTER FOR DISPLACED PEOPLE
WE ARE HERE
AND UNITED PAINTING JOIN FORCES TO PAINT GREY OFFICE BUILDING THAT SERVES AS A TEMPORARY SHELTER FOR DISPLACED PEOPLE
The Vluchtmaat was a grey, boring office building in the south-east of Amsterdam, which accommodates a lively community of 40 Ethiopians and Eritreans. A group organised by the Wij Zijn Hier (We are Here) initiative based in Amsterdam. They support undocumented refugees in finding squated accommodation throughout the city. The Vluchtmaat is unique as they share the property with a handful of local Dutch entrepreneurs who rent an office on the ground floor of the building, which pays for the expenses costs of the entire building.
The design process started with a creative workshop in which we explored various colours and patterns that they collectively liked. What was fascinating was almost all of them came up with a design that included a combination of the colours in the Dutch flag, Eritrean flag and Ethiopian flag. This colour combination acknowledged their past, who they were and where they were from, and their future, what they hope to become, a Dutch citizen. After we settled on the design we started painting the building together with the help of the residents and supplies of the neighbouring hardware stores.
UPDATE: The building has just recently been torn down and the people connected to We Are Here are still roaming through Amsterdam looking for a more permanent shelter. If you want to help them out, please contact @weareherenl through Instagram.
Sam Godfried, rented a workspace in the building: “The residents were tired of staring at the grey building so they asked United Painting to join forces with them to paint the outside.”
ACADEMY WORKSHOP IN CURAÇAO LEADS TO A SERIES OF ART INTERVENTIONS IN THE OTROBANDA NEIGHBORHOOD
ACADEMY WORKSHOP IN CURAÇAO
LEADS TO A SERIES OF ART INTERVENTIONS IN THE OTROBANDA NEIGHBORHOOD OF WILLEMSTAD
The United Painting Academy, made possible by the Art of Impact Fund, is a series of 3 workshops held in Curacao between March and August 2016. The goal of the United Painting Academy Curaçao was to create a place where we could transfer our knowledge regarding the creation of large-scale community art projects.
We wanted to educate and inspire students, artists, volunteers and researchers interested in art and community driven projects. We combined architecture, design, social work and fundraising in a dynamic workshop setting, which eventually led to several art interventions in a neighbourhood called Otrobanda. The goal of these interventions was to improve the direct living environment address problems and stimulate participation and involvement of neighbours and to bring positive change.
For the first workshop we invited a group of international project partners and leaders from their projects in Rio de Janeiro, Port au Prince and Philadelphia, along with experts from Amsterdam and Los Angeles. They transferred and exchanged their project knowledge, expertise, project results and experiences with each other in order to learn and improve future project endeavours.
During workshop 2 and 3, the Otrobanda neighbourhood was painted. This resulted in over 20 colourful murals across the neighbourhood. The artistic intervention helped to overcome the parking problems that were present within the neighbourhood. The colourful patterns are designed to be inviting and seem to draw tourist into the small streets of Otrobanda.
The area is now seen as a tourist destination. During the project, the Ministry of Transport and Association for the Conservation of Monuments visited the area in order to talk about concrete solutions to improve the area, restore the buildings and reduce criminality.
The second and third workshop were attended by international students and artists from Colombia, United Kingdom, Aruba, Australia, United States and students from the university of Curaçao. Photo’s and stories of the workshops were published in over 6 local newspapers. Dick Drayer from the NTR Caribbean Network recorded the favela painters while they were painting the Otrobanda neighborhood. In the past, the local community of this neighbourhood protested against the decline of the area. Therefore abandoned buildings were painted white to address the deterioration of the area.
Local photographer and filmer Pet Holman created an ibook about the project. The ibook can found and downloaded in the Apple store and is called ‘Pigment Passion’.
AMSTERDAM PAINTING - UNITED PAINTING CREW REVAMPS AN ENTIRE ROOM OF THE STEDELIJK MUSEUM IN AMSTERDAM
AMSTERDAM PAINTING
THE UNITED PAINTING CREW REVAMPS AN ENTIRE ROOM OF THE STEDELIJK MUSEUM IN AMSTERDAM
We were invited to paint a large room of the Stedelijk Museum, based in Amsterdam’s Museum Quarter, as part of the Solution or Utopia Design for Refugees exhibition.
The exhibition was displayed across two rooms, one completely dark room and one very light room. We made a design for the light room and used bright colours in the design to represent ‘sunrise after a long cold night’, a sign of hopeful future amongst the current darkness that refugees face on their journeys to safety.
FORMER INFAMOUS PRISON IN AMSTERDAM TURNED INTO SHELTER FOR NEWCOMERS AND NEEDS A MORE WELCOMING ENTRANCE
AMSTERDAM PAINTING
FORMER INFAMOUS PRISON IN AMSTERDAM TURNED INTO SHELTER FOR NEWCOMERS AND NEEDS A MORE WELCOMING ENTRANCE
In 2016, we returned to The Netherlands to start our first project back home. The refugee crisis in Europe finds cities in need of new and fast solutions to help create a humane and liveable situation for refugees in their new temporary homes.
In Amsterdam the former ‘Bijlmerbajes’ prison was closed and quickly turned into a temporary refugee living facility. Prisons are not the most welcoming places and the Bijlmerbajes is not different. The Amsterdam Painting project aimed to transform this huge complex with six giant grey towers that have long been an eyesore in Amsterdam’s skyline.
Having previously only worked in established single communities we needed to somehow find a way to design and paint a mural that represented this new multi-cultured temporary community. Working collaboratively with locals and newcomers. The project aimed to transform the buildings, both in-and outside, in order to recreate their new identity as a new home to the refugees. And at the same time offer opportunities in form of skill training, network building and job opportunity, while empowering the participants to ‘make the place their own’.
BIJLMERBAJES ENTRANCE
The first big project of the Amsterdam Painting crew was to extend the entrance design around the front of the building. The crew worked alongside local Amsterdam volunteers and completed the painting in over a month.
Since painting the entrance in the summer of 2016, a steady paint crew emerged which consists of both locals and newcomers. Newcomers face long waiting times and strict limitations while their asylum requests are processed. By designing the project in a way that was open, flexible and inclusive allowed us to reach a diverse group of newcomers with varying needs. Whether newcomers help for one day or multiple months, the goal is for them to take something positive away from their painting experience.
LOLA LIK
Lola Lik is a cultural HUB located on the south-side of the old Bijlmer Bajes prison focusing on bringing locals and newcomers together to learn off each other. The crew was invited to paint the main inner square and buildings in and around the Lola Lik space. The crew has worked here since late 2016.
“The vibe around here is a lot better since colour has been added to the walls.” David van Dommelen, Operations Manager at Lola Lik
