Murals for Communities – Creative Europe project

Mural Art is a form of street art that uses its spatial and social surroundings to derive its meaning and messages. This art form does not have a goal to produce works that are meaningful by themselves. They focus on altering physical environments in which they are created, and by doing so, produce an effect within the minds of people and communities that are part of these environments through social messages they depict. The art form is easily linked to graffiti culture(s), by itself a product of urban cultures since the second half of the 20th century, as well as ‘tagging’: the social messaging activities of gangs that, in many cases, evoke negative connotations to their surroundings.
Murals are able to use the abilities for social messaging on quite opposite manners as well. When facilitated properly, these works are able to positively capture and express feelings, stories and histories of people, local communities and surroundings (e.g. districts and buildings), becoming a powerful tool to bind peoples within and among communities. The art form can become a strong actor for community building processes, stimulating well-being, helping to fight feelings of loneliness and marginalisation of communities. Moreover, when created by highly capable artists, Murals are able to turn empty and abandoned surfaces into visually stimulating pieces of art, adding to the general sense of ‘beautification’ of a Mural’s surroundings.