Smog-eating graffiti
Science tells people what, art tells people why
Rimini province, Italy | 1 January 2020 – 30 October 2020
The smog-eating graffiti has been an activity designed and managed by #sosteniamoci as part of the Piantiamola project. Main goal of Piantiamola was to get children from the local primary school in Sant’Andrea in Besanigo (RN, Italy), their families and the local community to plant trees and bushes in a small city park in their residential area close to a waste incinerator. As part of it #sostentiamoci wanted to engage the local community, drawing on the deeper meaning of the action carried out: through a participatory approach the local community was invited to share their thoughts on issues such as “what is the role of young people as change agents?”, “what is the meaning of green in my neighborhood?”, “what really connects me to the place where I live?” The issues gathered were analyzed by a team composed by facilitators, art experts and environmental technicians, deducing some core visual elements which were then elaborated by the street artist in the form of a graffiti. On the day when the tree planting took place, the graffiti was realized on the walls of the local kindergarten, using a special paint that absorbs and degrades pollutants from air as well as water-base colors. The smog-eating graffiti had (at least) three purposes: to remember the experience and values of the project, showcasing the thoughts that the local community had deemed important to share; to be used by teachers at the kindergarten as an educational tools for the kids; to amplify the environmental benefit of the trees planted. After the completion of Piantiamola, some of the smog-eating paint was still available and was donated to the local Fridays for Future group, which used it to paint another smog-eating graffiti with environmental theme on the wall of their high-school. This second graffiti is then an offspring of the original idea, proving the value of art, science and innovative technology in disseminating environmental values and climate change awareness.
Some pictures of the follow-up graffiti realized by Fridays for Future Rimini can be seen here https://www.facebook.com/fridaysforfuturerimini/photos
More info & Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/media/set?vanity=piantiamola2020&set=a.191075579091421
https://www.facebook.com/piantiamola2020
https://www.facebook.com/progettososteniamoci
https://www.instagram.com/sosteniamoci_ispira/
Editor’s Note: All information published as submitted by the author(s). Minor edits may have been made to increase readability and understanding.
