Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. What some people might have initially perceived as destructive has become an important feature to the local community in Quattordio, Italy. Graffiti artists from around the world also showcased their artistic skills this year in this unique open-air museum, bringing an unexpected twist to our usual COLORFUL COMMUNITIES® projects. We bet you are intrigued now!
An Open-Air Street Museum
In 1984, the Municipality of Quattordio, northern Italy, held a graffiti writing event at which legendary graffiti artists from around the world embellished the town’s walls with their art.
The small town became an open-air museum, putting it firmly on the map of local attractions. When it was suggested the event become a regular thing, it was well received by all and has been held every four years since 2017.
The Quattordio Urban Art (QUA) Festival is organized by Stradedarts, a street art experience organization, and the local municipality, Comune di Quattordio. National and international mural artists are invited to beautify the local area by renewing or replacing existing artwork according to certain themes and values.
There are also workshops and educational projects to help bring children closer to the world of art.
Our Positive Link Between Color and Community
Once again, we were proud to support the QUA festival this year, which was held in May. In all, twenty walls were adorned by the skills of several artists using about 3,500 liters of our products.
The local mayor Alessandro Venezia and Isabella Ercole, plant manager at our Automotive OEM Coatings facility in Quattordio and managing director of PPG Italy, participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the Quattordio Urban Art Museum. Isabella says:
Supporting the Big Dreams of a Small Village
Ahead of the festival, Alberto Poncino, our technical platform coordinator, Industrial Coatings Italy, led a team of 10 volunteers and two contractors in the preparation of a prominent exterior wall for the artist Sea Creative to create a vibrant PPG mural on using SIGMA COATINGS® sustainable products.
During the festival, the team helped restore a historical mural, originally designed by Delta 2 back in 1984. And Italian artist, KayOne, sprayed an old FIAT Punto local police car, which will remain on display in front of the PPG Quattordio plant.
Our employees were invited to send their photos of the festival to a panel to compete for the award of Best Image. And their children could submit drawings as inspiration for future QUA artists. Prizes included a QUA book signed by KayOne, a signed QUA T-shirt, and a Colorful Communities T-shirt signed by Sea Creative.
Color Is a Part of Me
Alberto was proud to help run this project and really appreciated getting to know his colleagues better through it.
He learned that by joining forces and working as a team, “unexpected results can be obtained” – like painting a wall in the blazing sun and 40 °C heat!
Are we likely to hear more stories of Alberto being involved in such projects? Oh yes!