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In architecture and art, we have to deal with trends and prevailing fashions. For the last few years, we have seen the growing popularity of murals and street art activities in Poland, carried out at various levels.

 

 

 

A project by a team of Kalisz visual artists entitled „Street Art – Mural – Miejski ogród” („Street Art - Mural - Urban Garden”), awarded in the 3rd edition of the Starak Family Foundation's "Wena" Grant Programme Competition entitled „Świat z mojego okna” ("The world from my window”), however, deserves special attention. From the very beginning, Ms Ewa Ratajczyk worked very diligently on the plan of the task, from administrative matters, obtaining all executive approvals, through the awakening of social involvement and ecological attentiveness, to inviting the recognised street art artist from Kalisz, Mr Wojciech Brewka, to participate in the project.

 

The project's premise was a synthesis of art, nature and ecology. The result of the students' activity is the revitalisation of a courtyard in the centre of Kalisz, at 5-6 Parczewskiego Street, adjacent to the old walls of the city. The interactive activity was intended to draw the attention of the inhabitants to the need and value of communing with art, as well as caring for the environment and creating "Urban Gardens” which can be an aesthetic and pro-ecological alternative to concrete city streets. - Ewa Ratajczyk

 

 

An empty and sad square, where the view from the residents' windows focused on rubbish bins, has been transformed, thanks to a mural and the arrangement of an urban garden, into a cosy place where one can now spend time pleasantly. We publish the change in the attached photo report.

 

 

First, the courtyard area was cleaned up as part of a municipal investment and a paved path was created. The materials for these measures were obtained from demolition work. A new litter bin box, designed by LSP students, was made in the courtyard.

 

Thanks to the workshops given to the students, and the personal involvement of Wojciech Brewka, the students of the Kalisz Visual Arts Lycee greatly expanded their knowledge of street art, which is not covered in the school curriculum. Using the knowledge gained at the workshop, the young people created mural designs in the drawing and painting studio of Ms Izabela Symonowicz. Then, in an internal school competition, the winning design was selected by Nikola Szpera from grade 3 of the VIsual Arts School. The author, together with her classmates awarded in the competition, created the designed work, having had the opportunity to work directly with Wojciech Brewka.

 

 

The unveiling of the mural coincided with the Kalisz City Festival on the 740th anniversary of the renewal and confirmation of Kalisz's city rights. We would like to congratulate the students of the Kalisz Visual Arts School for their involvement in these events, which left a lasting mark.

 

By taking part in workshops on designing hotels for insects, led by their teachers Iwona Marcinkowska and  Agnieszka Miśkiewicz in the arrangement and design studio, the students also deepened their knowledge of ecology, especially of bee ecosystems threatened with extinction.

 

The project was also enriched by workshops and the practice of art therapy/healing through art/ and hortitherapy /a method of treatment using the potential of the garden to work with the patient or recipient/. Young people with intellectual disabilities from the J. Korczak Special School and Educational Centre No. 1 in Kalisz actively participated in the project, working hard to tidy up the courtyard and plant the plants.

 

We would like to congratulate Ewa Ratajczyk, the pupils and all those who helped and supported the project!

 

 

The best review of the effect may be a statement made by a resident of Kalisz, passing by by chance, who, observing the event, joined in and said: "How beautiful, fragrant and green it is here now. I used to pass here often, there were only rubbish bins here, with bulky rubbish usually lying around. Now it's beautiful, hidden rubbish bins, a beautiful mural and there's a bench, you can sit down and relax. I would love to see such a beautiful change in my street.

 

Another resident whose windows overlook the courtyard said: I used to go out to the courtyard just to throw away the rubbish, but now I also go out to relax outside, to meet a neighbour, to chat. The residents were actively involved in the project and declared that they would take care of the revitalised place and the vegetation.

 

There is another very important aspect worth noting as a result of the project, namely - the relationship created: students - residents - artists - municipal administration institutions. Thanks to art, the process of co-creating a work of art, after a time of pandemonium, when all relations were brutally destroyed, they were re-established and tightened.

 

 

We wish students, residents, all those sensitive to beauty and art to be inspired in such unique places. The tourists visiting the city can already mark the address of 5-6 Parczewskiego Street in Kalisz on their sightseeing map.

 

more about the project: https://starakfoundation.org/pl/wena/edycja/_street_art_mural_miejski_ogrod_