Art of Her

Street art is a tool that gives any city an identity, and 20th-century constructivist buildings a new life. There are various obstacles on the way to realizing urban murals: communication with the owners, approval of the sketch, finding materials.

There is a term - "gentrification", a reconstruction of urban neighborhoods that have fallen into disrepair. An example is the Wynwood neighborhood in Miami. It used to be a criminal neighborhood, but a philanthropist bought some warehouses, brought in artists from all over the world, and they started painting the walls. Now Wynwood is a huge art cluster and a tourist attraction with various galleries and stores.

Graffiti gives the city variety, makes everyday life more lively - it shows that there is a very interesting alternative to the gray banners.

There are similar examples in many cities, for example in Novosibirsk, the artist Ivan Yagoda organized the festival "Painted. This year he transformed a ski resort in the village of Sheregesh.

Recently, a new mural was presented in Karaganda, located on the back facade of the building of the K.S. Stanislavsky Karaganda Russian Drama Theater. 

"If we talk about the project, which is implemented in Karaganda. It is a project that has solved many socially important problems. First of all, it is ecology, safety and infrastructure of the city. We have cleaned the territory from garbage, now there is a work on approval of budget to make a platform and square for youth on a location where mural is placed. The city is about the people. I hope that this project will give people who are passing by food for thought and be a reminder to start doing something for the love of your city and the people around", - said Irina Kharitonova, expert of cultural-creative industries of Central Asia.

If you look at the pyramid of needs of modern Kazakhstan residents, you might decide that street art is not a priority need. But graffiti, street art and public art are not just drawings on walls. It is a language of communication in which the city can talk about absolutely different topics: from appeals to pay attention to existing problems to the abstract visual transformation of faded walls.

Street art brings something simple and human to the strict framework of the city. It speaks to the atmosphere in the area, it tells us about the level of freedom in the city and whether or not its residents have a voice. Also, street art helps not only to shape the visual appearance of the space, but also to express the ideas and values that hang in the society.

Often residents are proud of their local murals - it's not just a landmark, but an idea that brings them together. For example, a portrait of Daniil Kharms in St. Petersburg on the house where he lived is a tribute to the writer, the pride of residents, and a reminder of the funny, life-affirming lines, and a kind of education for those who do not know the writer.

"I think creating graffiti is important. Art has evolved with human history, from cave paintings to modern digital technology. Murals, graffiti and street art are an integral part of modern history. It will either develop with us or without us. Our task is to choose our role in this process. We need to show the art, to influence the tastes and opinions of the residents, to bring them to the high things. I hope that such large-scale objects in the open air will please many people and solve many important problems in every city of Kazakhstan," shared Irina Kharitonova, an expert researcher of cultural and creative industries in Central Asia.