CITY AIR MAKES ONE FREE
Tell us about your experience of the city and share your ideas for how you would make your city better.
The City Speaks had a fabulous year in 2012! News of where it’s been and where to expect it in 2013… (Germany, Malta, Greece and France - it’s coming your way!)
SLOVENIA:
Maribor –
TCS launched in Maribor on 12 July 2012, coinciding with European City of Culture events and a visit from the Committee on Culture and Education in the European Parliament. Also featured live graffiti and music from The Selector DJs (the British Council’s international radio station). Also featuring guided tours from Maslaha.
Ljubljana –
TCS opened as part of the Biennale of Design programme on 15 October 2012. This was accompanied by a roundtable discussion with a range of talents (including Graham Sheffield, Director of Arts at the British Council) about city regeneration, what role culture can play, and how important it is to relate to social and political dynamics in the environment. Also featuring guided tours from Maslaha.
DENMARK:
Copenhagen –
TCS opened at the Museum of Copenhagen on 6 July 2012, accompanied by a ‘Before I die…’ wall.
SWITZERLAND:
Geneva –
TCS opened in Geneva in September 2012 in the UN Palais des Nations (with speeches from Ambassadors and UN officials) and was also accompanied by a skateboarding competition which brought young skateboarders from the UK to compete against those from Geneva. We brought Susie McKenna, Creative Director of the Hackney Empire, to the event and she gave a beautiful speech.
SWEDEN:
Gothenberg –
TCS opened in the Museum of World Culture on 25 August 2012 (as part of the Eid Festival that the museum hosts every year). The museum was so thrilled with the exhibition that they asked to keep it until the end of the year.
GREECE:
Athens –
TCS opened in Athens (in the Spyromiliou Arcade) on 20 November 2012. Candy Chang’s ‘Before I die…’ wall featured.
Thessaloniki –
Coming in March 2013.
GERMANY:
Berlin –
TCS was presented on 29 November at a Migration and Cities seminar (with the Heinrich Böll Foundation).
Leipzig – TCS opened in Leipzig in January 2013.
MALTA:
COMING SOON!: TCS will open at the St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity in February 2013. It will coincide with a social entrepreneurship seminar on the theme of ‘Smart Cities and Environment’.
FRANCE:
To open in Marseille in 2013.
Susie McKenna, Creative Director of the Hackney Empire, speaks passionately about the power of the arts at the launch of Maslaha’s ‘The City Speaks’ exhibition at the UN Palais des Nations, Geneva.
![Listen closely to flamenco music and you can hear the stories of Andalucia’s rich past – the Arab, gitano [gypsies, many of whom had travelled from India], Jewish and Christian influences that are all part of the cultural fabric of southern Spain.
Flamenco originally consisted purely of the voice [cante], accompanied only by a rhythm. The other components – baile [dance], togue [guitar] and the jaleo [literally, ‘hell-raising’ or bringing the music to life through foot stamping, hand clapping and shouts of encouragement] – are often accompanied by a certain mysterious quality described as ‘duende’. This word captures the intimate transformation caused by the depth of emotion within the music.
In the 18th century, flamenco clubs [Café Cantantes] began to spring up in the main cities of Andalucia. Over the following decades, flamenco spread across Andalucia as audiences were captivated by the romance of this exciting and passionate music.
Image: Flamenco, 25 December 2010, flickr, Creative Commons license. Image by Fernando García. Flamenco combines many elements of Andalucia’s past. Once considered to be the music of the poor and oppressed, its popularity grew in the 18th century as flamenco clubs spread across Andalucia.
This post is an excerpt from The City Speaks exhibition.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/b935b8d292609497c52547d9e1993034/tumblr_mgazcfvOpW1rt627jo1_500.jpg)
Listen closely to flamenco music and you can hear the stories of Andalucia’s rich past – the Arab, gitano [gypsies, many of whom had travelled from India], Jewish and Christian influences that are all part of the cultural fabric of southern Spain.
Flamenco originally consisted purely of the voice [cante], accompanied only by a rhythm. The other components – baile [dance], togue [guitar] and the jaleo [literally, ‘hell-raising’ or bringing the music to life through foot stamping, hand clapping and shouts of encouragement] – are often accompanied by a certain mysterious quality described as ‘duende’. This word captures the intimate transformation caused by the depth of emotion within the music.
In the 18th century, flamenco clubs [Café Cantantes] began to spring up in the main cities of Andalucia. Over the following decades, flamenco spread across Andalucia as audiences were captivated by the romance of this exciting and passionate music.
Image: Flamenco, 25 December 2010, flickr, Creative Commons license. Image by Fernando García. Flamenco combines many elements of Andalucia’s past. Once considered to be the music of the poor and oppressed, its popularity grew in the 18th century as flamenco clubs spread across Andalucia.
This post is an excerpt from The City Speaks exhibition.
Wowsers!
For those of you who missed it, here are some photos of The City Speaks in the UN Palais des Nations (Geneva!) in September 2012.
Ole!!!
The City Speaks exhibition in the UN Palais des Nations! Break beat city montage spoke poetry playing in the background…
Wahey! Skate boarding contest in Place des Nations at 3:30pm today! The City Speaks!
Street art has existed in cities for centuries: creative marks in public spaces often by anonymous faces; art free of official sanction. Street art, street performance and street theatre appear as organic modes of expression, grown in the streets, climbing on to the walls from the pavements, and touching the everyday urban subconscious. Enduring works of street art have become city symbols, even tourist attractions.
The word ‘graffiti’ has its roots in the Italian word ‘graffiare’ – to scratch or carve – and generally refers to any form of public marking. This form of urban expression dates back to Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire and Mesopotamia. Graffiti has long been associated with alternative forms of expression, strongly linked with the growth of subcultures and political resistance. However, these alternative modes of expression have become so popular that they have even been appropriated by commercial advertising. The work of street artists such as Banksy has been shown in established art galleries, ‘legitimising’ it as a genre of art.
Now cities around the world host annual street art festivals, when well-known artists are invited from around the world [or just show up]. The streets become an open gallery with no closing hours, and each empty space becomes a canvas. The open spirit of street art emphasises the importance of each individual’s interaction with society and their surroundings.
El Guitarrista’ by El Mac, 2011 - Avant-Garde Urbano, an international festival of artistic interventions in the urban space, is held in Tudela de Navarra, Spain. LA-based artist El Mac described this piece on his blog: ‘The mural was painted in an old Gypsy neighbourhood… the history and culture in this area runs deep. Christians, Jews and Muslims have all shaped the identity of old Tudela, and it was inspiring to soak some of this in’.
Dan Witz - Nuart is an annual street art festival based in Stavanger on the West Coast of Norway. This artwork is by American artist Dan Witz.
Phlegm - At Nuart. This artwork is by British artist Phlegm.
Branimirova Street graffiti wall - MUU street art museum is a project dedicated to forming a more coherent street art scene in Croatia. It is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In 2010 Branimirova Street was transformed in a MUU project to bring art into neglected areas of the city.
Images:
El Mac at Avant-Garde Urbano 2011, 5 October 2011, Creative Commons license. Image by Ana Alvarez-Errecalde and Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada, flickr.
Dan Witz installations, 29 September 2011, Creative Commons license. Image by kalevkevad, flickr.
Work by Phlegm, 29 September 2011, Creative Commons license. Image by kalevkevad, flickr.
Branimirova Street graffiti wall, 28 September 2011. Image by Josephine Dorado, flickr.
Preparations for the skateboarding competition are underway in Geneva… Check out the Facebook event to find out more…
TEAM GENEVA:
Mr. Lucien Wampfler
Ms. Vanessa Udriot
VS
TEAM UK
Mr. Daryl Dominguez
Ms. Helena Georgia Long
