In March, at the opening of the Learning and Information Centre – a new project created by MOAS in collaboration with AWAS, dedicated to providing educational opportunities for migrants living at Hal Far in Malta – the artist Pep Walls from Barcelona revealed to all participants the mural titled ‘Another World is Possible’. The artwork was designed by Romanian artist Nada Ree and realised by Pep together with the residents of the Hangar Open Centre. The design was submitted as part of the Art@Climate2030 competition organised by the Swedish organisation Doing Good.
MOAS interviewed the artist to discover more about the mural and its art.
At the opening of the Learning and Info Centre, we admired the mural you created entitled “Another World Is Possible”. What does it represent? Can you tell us more about this mural?
“Another World is Possible” is a mural inspired by the original design created by the Romanian artist Nada Ree. That original design was awarded at an international competition entitled “Art at Climate 2030”, launched by the Swedish association ‘Doing Good’. Throughout the competition, artists from all around the world were invited to submit illustrations or paintings on the topic of climate change and nature preservation. The prize for winning that competition was to transform their designs into actual European murals. The aim of the project was to communicate through murals the critical situation our world is facing in terms of climate change.
Nada Ree’s design was chosen to be painted in Malta, and I was the artist in charge of executing the design. I adapted the composition, simplifying the shapes and colours, to make it easier to paint as a mural workshop with the migrant residing in Hal Far.
In my own opinion, this design is an invitation for us to change the way we interact with our environment and our community, an invitation to embrace new sustainable lifestyles, to be increasingly in touch with nature and supportive within our own communities.
For MOAS, integration, equal opportunities and respect for human rights are extremely important regardless of nationality, ethnicity and any other differences. How can art, and that of murals, convey these messages and build bridges?
After many years working in the field of street art, I started appreciating art not as a final result but as an experience. I am more interested in how a mural is painted rather than its final outcome. I believe murals offer the possibility to connect people and build a community around one big painting. What I am trying to do with these mural workshops is use the experience to empower the participants. To help them realise how capable they are in achieving their goals if they work as a team and build up community links while working together on the collaborative painting.
Also, historically, mural art has been used as a political tool for marginalised groups to raise their voices by making public protest art. This is not only for a decorative purpose but mainly for a political purpose. With my art, I try to follow these intentions and always paint designs and places that encourage changing the world for the better.
The migrants present in the centre collaborated with you during the mural’s creation. Can you tell us more about this experience?
For me, the most important thing when I paint a mural is to make the community or the neighbours embrace it and feel proud of that public painting. In street art, not every artist pays attention to the community; most of them travel abroad and paint a design they choose. Sometimes, the residents neighbouring the peace don’t feel any connection with it, and they will never really embrace it as a part of their landscape.
For that reason, it is essential for me to connect with the community I am working with, invite them to execute the artwork and discuss the design we are painting with them.
In Hal Far, we organized an open workshop for the residents to join in the painting and design. It was an activity that appealed mostly to families with kids. For three days, we filled the wall with colours from all the people coming from different origins, speaking different languages, and with their own cultural references. Having such a mix of cultures working on the same painting was really inspiring.
How did you start dealing with art, and why did you choose to make murals your strong point?
It is impossible to tell you when I started dealing with art. In my point of view, the ones who choose this path are born with a different way of expressing themselves and interacting with others. We need constant artistic creation to connect with ourselves and our surroundings. My mother often explains how as a kid she only remembers me playing and painting with my markers and pencils. So, I guess I have always been fascinated with artistic expression, it is not only a job but also a life path you are born with.
The interest in murals came later on. Growing up in Barcelona I believe this is part of the explanation of why street art became my main artistic expression. Barcelona is a city full of graffiti; I was always interested in it when I was walking around. I was always looking at the new paintings in the neighbourhoods, recognizing the graffiti codes, and later on start spraying the city myself.
I’ve always felt that painting in a studio is too alienating from the real world, at the end of the day I am painting because I want to interfere somehow in people’s life. Public murals allow me to archive this interaction I was looking for in my art, and also opened the opportunity to start creating participative artworks, my main occupation and artistic research at the moment.
In your murals, climate change is often present, a problem that increasingly intersects with migration dynamics. What messages do you hope to spread through your work regarding this issue?
I think working about climate change with migrants makes sense, and we can learn even more about the real effects of increasing temperatures on ecosystems.
Some people are forced to migrate because of the devastating effects that climate change is causing to their homes and countries; none of them emigrate for pleasure; there are always conditions that they can escape from, and the only solution at the end of the day is to look for a better life abroad. Some of them have learnt techniques to adapt to extreme temperatures or the absolute dry zones where it is incredibly difficult to grow anything, and we should listen to that knowledge because Europe could be suffering the same conditions in a few years.
I hope my murals inspire a new way to interact with the environment and with humans ourselves. We should learn to respect the boundaries of our ecosystems and limit our carbon dioxide emissions, try to live a more sustainable lifestyle and consume only what we need. Embrace new migrants and work on a means for efficient integration with those people who have lost their places because of climate change. Build a new world where we can learn from our past mistakes and start over again before it is too late.
Final thoughts
In MOAS we believe that art can be a powerful tool for positive change. Art can shed light on humanitarian crises and amplify the voices of those affected by crises, giving a platform to share stories and experiences. Art can transcend language and cultural barriers, creating a bridge of understanding between people from different backgrounds and cultures. It allows us to connect with our heritage, understand different traditions, and celebrate the richness of human experience. This appreciation for diversity is vital to building a more peaceful and harmonious world.
We are very grateful to Pep Walls and all the artists who collaborated with MOAS in the past years. From the American artist Kelly White and her artworks collection “Kaleidoscope of Solidarity”, to Austin Camilleri, who donated one of his works to support the first MOAS Gala event. From GOIN, a French street artist who created a piece called ‘Lady Refugee’ in Grenoble, to Mohamad Ali ‘Dali’ Agrebi and Chakib Zidi who promote solidarity through the dance and interactive theatre, Alfredo Jaar, and his ‘The Gift’, and Gianluca Costantini who is behind the beautiful illustrations, based on an original image by a MOAS photographer in the field of operations.
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