On the occasion of the exhibition 'Street Art & Democracy' initiated and organised by Street Art Museum Amsterdam (SAMA), Pipsqueak was here!!! painted a mural at the Confucius Play Park in the Nieuw-West district of Amsterdam.
On a sunny winter day in February, Pipsqueak was here!!! visits SAMA to discuss the ideas for Street Art & Democracy. The street artist duo takes a seat on the couch at SAMA where the sun is shining through the windows. Soon, they exchange their seats for a chair out of the sun. They don't stoke up at home and are not yet used to the warmth, which is extraordinary for this time of year. Pipsqueak was here!!! is very aware of the global climate crisis and works with this theme in their art. Street Art & Democracy also fits this theme, as they believe that nature should be heard.
In May, they will hold workshops with young people from the neighbourhood and make a live mural in the Confucius Play Park. Despite the plans to organise the workshops with pre-organised groups, we decided on the day of the workshops that anyone who wants to can participate in stencil-making and graffiti spraying. After all, this fits in much better with the theme of democracy that we discuss with young people and parents in the morning. Children and parents who are in the playground and show interest join in, and everyone can spray their stencil on the designated wall. Because of current events, we use the Ukrainian flag as a background, which was already present on the wall. This gives the discussion an extra layer. Many young adults and children spray their names on the wall with a self-cut stencils as their translation of democracy. They are there, and they have a voice to be heard. One of the young participants chose the word 'Muslim' to refer to his sense of identity, and a few others chose their own names. Also, Pipsqueak was here!!! inspired local residents to think about the ecosystem and they helped to draw, cut and spray a bee.
On a different day, the artist duo painted their artwork on the workshop wall at the Playpark. The mural depicts a girl and a bear, repeated figures in their work. The bear represents the voice of the ecosystem and the girl the new generation. They first apply the contours with large stencils, then the colours and the drawing. During the painting, the artists talked to their audience and explained why they made a girl and a bear: "We believe nature should have a lawful voice in society."
Have a look at the video :