The festival “Art Active” is the first of its type in Georgia. It represents part of the EU funded project  “Culture Factory”. The urban art takes inspiration from many countries of Europe and addresses directly and immediately the general public of any segment of audience, especially youth.  Events meant to propose the best samples of street art from different countries of Europe, and show how dialogue and shared good feelings are possible beyond linguistic and cultural diversity.

From October 2-6 French artists Eltono was working around the idea of "Friezes." He created a painting that linked old urban objects to one to the other. It was composed with long graphic friezes that start and end in different places. The main idea was to create a connection between all the painted elements using a simple graphic language running all across the area that ties the neighborhood together. Having the residents helping with the realization of the paintings has accentuated that "bringing everybody together" feeling. The artist almost always choses neglected surfaces with the intention of reviving their dignity and to take advantage of the power found in aged textures. As a final days of the event, October 7-8, invited artist was making installation in the yard of the #41 kindergarten by using old wooden objects such as pallets, boxes and furniture to build a labyrinth for kids that remained there for the use of children of the district.

 

During October 5-8, there were parallel activities planed in cooperation with the youth center of Rustavi and other supporting organizations. It included guerilla gardening by group of guerilla gardeners from Rustavi and Tbilisi, intellectual games by Funbus.ge, educative quiz videos by Meet Europe, creative floor alphabet painting in the patio of the kindergarten by an invited and local artist/kids and the talent show organized by Rustavi youth center.   

 

Eltono (1975) worked in Madrid for the last decade, and since 2010 lives in Beijing. He started his street art career with the usual tools of the trade – spray paint cans. After ten years of bombing, his practice diverged as he evolved his artistic style using acrylic paints and tape to develop an abstract geometric language. Eltono is known for his constructive criterion and his sensitivity to medium and location. He always improvises his forms and colors in situ to integrate within the existing balance. He also chooses neglected surfaces with the intention of reviving their dignity and making use of their aged textures and abandoned states. The paintings of this prestigious yet humble artist can be found on the streets of more than eighty cities. He has shown his works in many world-renowned galleries and museums, including the Tate Modern and Fundacion Miro. Over the last twelve years, the development of Eltono’s work in galleries has focused on finding solutions to address the problems of showing public art in private indoor spaces.

 

3-4th of August at 11:00 a.m. in Mestia, Svaneti near Betqili and #1 public school territory, “Internews Georgia” under EU patronage and other supporting organizations was continuing first urban art festival “Art Active” 2013.

The event was indirect advocacy for plastic waste reduction and waste dumpster opening possibility in the nearest future. Planed activity was meant to integrate kids from 5 different schools of Svaneti with local population in order to work together by cleaning polluted areas of Mestia. Invited artist from UK, Richard Raynolds along with all the participants were using tool of guerilla gardening to give life to dead and gloomy areas of the city, that after recent reconstruction became artificial, dull and lack of green. Canvas bags especially made by school children with tag messages made “show your nature” were promoted to be used as substitution to plastic bags in Svaneti also ha been sold at symbolic price during the final event. Alongside, workshop was held to educate and raise awareness in local population about the plastic waste damage to nature.  There were creative signs against littering will be hanged around the city of Mestia. 

 

Richard Raynolds has been guerrilla gardening for nine years, illicitly transforming the public and sometimes private outdoor realm of his neighborhood and beyond by gardening. Some patches thrive many years later, tended by Richard and his troops as if they were his own garden; others are short-lived experiments, vulnerable to the risks of the landscape, bet they natural or intentional. While doing this Richard has blogged, written and lectured on the subject, gathering examples from guerrilla gardeners around the world. Some like him do so for an obsessive love of gardening and the unexpected interactions of doing so in public space, others for more temporary provocative statements or just simply, for fun.