The project INSIDES (Innovative Training Settings for the Self-Development of Emerging Artists) started in march 2021 with the aim to reach out to young adults thanks to the participatory tool of Contemporary Street Art, supporting their growth and offering a useful context for active citizenship to express imagination and creativity. INSIDES provided specific skills useful to learn how to produce, to promote and to manage artistic activities, with the goal to contribute to the creation of a European “artistic citizenship” able to manifest its creative potential.
This has been achieved via extensive research on street art, outreach in local communities, workshops and the production of murals.
The UK activities were planned and executed in urban settings in Londo, in the London boroughs of Croydon, London Borough of Southwark as well as the areas of Crystal Palace, Anerley and Gipsy Hill. The activities have seen Hundreds of participants joining forces in different roles across 3 countries, from organisers to workshop moderators and artists and audience/fruitors.
The partnership builded a dialogue between Southern and Northern Europe: Italy and Greece, two of the three countries involved, looked at the experience of the UK partner in order to get inspiration by the British underground urban creativity which has been marked by youth and proactive community participation that has thoroughly redesigned UK cities over the last few decades.
The project is now drawing to a close and Beatbuzz, as the UK partner of this transnational project curated a Multiplier Event in the location where a large mural has been produced in September 2022, to present the research produced by the partnership as well as the results of some of the workshops. It’s an occasion to get together, present the project and discuss the role and the impact of street art and community art in today’s world.
The format of the event has been of an exhibition with a representative of Beatbuzz walking and talking the audience through the various artworks produced in IO2, the desk research produced in IO1 and the overall project.
We had 45 people throughout the day coming to the event, we distributed 12 desk researches to the interested audience and we collected over 25 names and signatures of some of the participants.
The format of the event allowed us to dedicate time to smaller groups of people throughout the afternoon, allowing us to provide more information about the project to the audience and to be able to answer all the questions. The event ran from 12pm until 4pm. The feedback received was very positive both from the audience who came directly for the event, as well as for the local residents and passers by who reiterated how the mural produced on the facade of the council estate has made it all more colourful and pleasant in opposition to the glass buildings that have now overtaken the area.
The audience was also very supportive of the workshops noting how important these are for young adults in the areas touched and how these might open new perspective to some of them.
