art – Generation Change

Express yourself with color

mueserk — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:52:49 +0000

Graffiti has a bad name. It’s often associated with vandalism, out-of-control youth and illegal tags in seedy places.

But for 23-year-old Daria Andert, graffiti can also be an important way for young people to express themselves and connect with their “inner artist.”

The art student from Cologne volunteers with a graffiti project called MittwochsMaler (Wednesday Painters), which holds drawing workshops, and helps aspiring sprayers practice graffiti on a legal wall.

Daria is hoping to deter illegal tagging, and show society graffiti artists shouldn’t be painted with the same brush as vandals.

Listen to the report by Natalie Muller in Cologne:

http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/files/Express-yourself-with-color1.mp3

Daria Andert see street art as a way to make a difference (Photo: N. Muller)

Here, spraying is legal (Photo: N. Muller)

Daria is considering a career as a teacher (Photo: N. Muller)

It’s all about the freedom to express yourself (Photo: N. Muller)

Mittwochs Maler is a break from Daria’s art studies (Photo: N. Muller)

Morocco’s street circus for the people

mueserk — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:56:00 +0000

A four-meter tall camel made of old flour and potato bags – that’s not something you see every day. It’s part of a street festival in rural Morocco with drums, acrobats and larger-than-life puppets, like the camel. The festival plays on local traditions and pays tribute to the region’s cultural heritage. But it also integrates young people from the area without many opportunities: school dropouts, unemployed, orphans. The guy behind it all is 22-year-old Azeddine Aabar.

Listen to the report by Elizabeth Grenier in Tahanahoute, Morocco:

Morocco’s street circus for the people

Azeddine, 22, has been involved in several grassroots social projects to promote political participation and democratization (Photo: E. Grenier)

The puppets used by the Eclats de lune circus collective are larger than life (Photo: E. Grenier)

The camel is a highlight at the Awaln’art street festival (Photo: E. Grenier)

The puppets at the Awaln’art street festival bear the traditional features of the people living in the mountainous region around Marrakesh (Photo: E. Grenier)

Both performers and spectators are proud of their local roots (Photo: E. Grenier)

The street festival integrates school drop out, unemployed youths and orphans (Photo: E. Grenier)

Cape Town artist beautifies local quarter

mueserk — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:32:01 +0000

The Woodstock neighborhood in Cape Town was once a thriving industrial area, but as the factories closed down it became more known for crime, gangs and drugs. Now the area is changing once again – this time for the better. Responsible for some of the more colorful changes is a young artist known as FreddySam who is working to uplift the area one mural at a time.

Listen to the report by Kim Chakanetsa in Cape Town:

Cape Town artist beautifies local quarter

RickyLee Gordon aka FreddySam in his studio at A Word of Art (Photo: Kim Chakanetsa)

Gamiet Karriem assists with the art tour and has lived in Woodstock for 34 years (Photo: Kim Chakanetsa)

FreddySam painted this mural for a woman who has lived in this house for nearly nine decades – and may be forced out soon (Photo: Kim Chakanetsa)

FreddySam’s large-scale murals leave behind a strong impression (Photo: Ricky Lee)

FreddySam wants to change his neighborhood’s image (Photo: Ricky Lee)

FreddySam has a knack for details (Photo: Ricky Lee)

Afghan street artist longs to share her work

admin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:42:44 +0000

A 23-year-old Afghan graffiti artist longs to share her work at home, but she faces harsh restrictions. Instead, she sets up private exhibitions to give other women courage to be bold and colorful.

Afghan street artist longs to share her work

Shamsia is freer to share her work in Germany than in Afghanistan

Shamsia says she invented a new kind of graffiti

Palestinian artist gives hope to community under occupation

admin — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:17:57 +0000

Eid, a 26-year-old Palestinian Bedouin, turns scrap material into art. His own house may be facing imminent demolition, but he is determined that his children will inherit his capacity to dream.

Palestinian artist gives hope to community under occupation

Watch a short documentary film about Eid here.

Eid with his wife Na'ama and daughter Sadin

From DW reporter Kate Laycock:

I first met Eid in November 2010, when I visited his village in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in the company of a mutual friend.

Although many people had tried to describe Eid to me, nothing could have prepared me for the emotion of the encounter.

Here is a young man living in one of the poorest areas of the occupied West Bank. The villages live in rickety concrete dwellings with corrugated iron roofs. Almost all the homes in his part of the village have demolition orders on them. The bulldozers could come at any time.

And yet he dares to dream.

Berlin ‘upcycler’ turns trash into treasures

admin — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:04:20 +0000

Used teabags become necklaces and empty tetra paks turn into shower curtains. Julia Vernersson encourages others to think differently about waste by making useful – and beautiful – everyday objects out of it.

Listen to the report

See some of Julia’s work here.