Wheels of fortune

By Dagmar Hoogland

I am always amazed how far a good idea from one person can go, or should I say roll?. Especially in a case like this, where the fire starter of this act of goodness is a cool, young skater called Puddy.

Puddy Zwennis decided to get out of his half pipe and roll a little further than usual on his skateboard. Living in South Africa and seeing up close the need for the less privileged in life to get an helping hand, he decided to set up an initiative to help a local charity program in quite an extraordinary way…

He skated all the way from Johannesburg to Cape Town to raise money for the SOS Children’s Villages South Africa.

His journey started on the 31st of July 2010 at the SOS Children’s Village in Ennerdale, Johannesburg and concluded on the 30th of October at the Village in Thortnon, Cape Town. In other words, Puddy spend 92 days on the road on a skateboard, covering an average of 20.3 km a day!

Together with some friends, who supported him along the way, a hand-full of sponsors and a lot of fans (2,157 on FaceBook!) he collected money for the children. There was help from the community too during the trip, when Puddy and crew stayed at friends, family or people who offered them free accommodation and free meals or gave him a simple cheer or honk as a sign of support. On November 12^th the event ended in style with a party in Cape Town to raise even more money. You can read about Puddy’s days on the road here

So now I wonder what’s ahead for 2011- perhaps a brave surfer crossing the oceans to save the whales, or a bunch of Guitar Heroes jamming for clean air? With young creative minds like Puddy, we think anything is possible.

Viva happiness!

By Andy Marks

We’re back again after a long break and wish you all happiness in this newest of years.

Yes happiness is what we want and what we reckon you will get by joining any one of the grassroots movements featured here on VivaCity.

But happiness can sound a bit wishy washy and clearly means different things to everyone of the nearly 7 billion of us on this increasingly urban planet.

Never fear for some people are tackling the issue of happiness head on.

Take Action For Happiness. They intend to provide a heap of ideas depending on your appetite for happiness and energy levels. They want to help groups form (very VivaCity), get people to talk about happiness preferably with a smile on their face, and they are even launching Action For Happiness week on April 11. Good luck we say!

And we at VivaCity are happy chappies for a host of reasons. For starters we have bolstered the ranks of contributors and happily welcome Chris Speirs, Anokhee Shah and Sue Shaw – watch out for their forthcoming posts. Oh happy days!

And talking of happiness, fellow contributor Shane Solanki, aka Last Mango in Paris, will shortly cut the ribbon for VivaCity on facebook.

And I am happy to say that, in this century of the city, instead of wallowing in frustration and complaining about overcrowding, pollution, overly powerful corporates, environmental degradation and much much more, there are more and more positive activists™©®☺ doing something about it, and making the world a happier place.

Niqabization of the population

by Shane Solanki

Ever since some dudes in New York started stealing power from street lights to power up home made sound systems to provide the sounds for block party street jams in the late seventies, graffiti has grown from being one of the essential five elements of hip hop to a global phenomenon registering the voice of the people. The simple political protest of scrawling your name on a wall, of marking your territory (amidst a plethora of signifiers which encourage consumption and submission to corporate interests), is one which governments have struggled to contain or understand; take Banksy’s work, once demonized and now deified worldwide. Princess Hijab is the pseudonym given to an anonymous artist who cheekily paints veils onto models on billboards in Paris, capital of the first country in the world to ban the niqab from public spaces. Other artists choose to travel the world to scrawl upon walls, making political statements which spill outside of galleries and institutions. Two of our current favorites are Seth, whose current sabbatical in India and China is pictured above, and Bluu.  

Street art can also be staged, instead of scripted; flash mobs worldwide create protest through performance. The most well celebrated of the flash mob phenomenon is Improv Everywhere, based in New York, but you’ll find examples planet wide; take My Mother’s Funeral, a performance organized in Bombay which manipulated the tendency of the Indian populace to stand, stop and stare at any kind of public spectacle on the street, to distribute messages about personal responsibility in the light of environmental awareness. In a country where the government are doing relatively nothing to stop the mountains of man made waste created every day, perhaps it’s only through public art, performance and spectacle that education can begin. Power to the people.  

“A change is gonna come…”

by Shane Solanki

This was the name of a Sam Cooke song which came to exemplify the sixties civil rights movement in the USA. Can music change the world?

The story of AfroReggae is now world renowned. A bunch of dudes wanted to deal with the amount of deaths and violence in the favelas of Rio De Janeiro, so they set up music workshops for local residents. Now, AfroReggae travels the world, performing, teaching and sharing skills with other organisations. The film Favela Rising documents how their social movement actually brought about a tangible reduction of violent crime in Rio De Janeiro.

Ten years ago, the world famous Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim collaborated with world famous literary theorist and Palestinian activist Edward Said to create the East West Divan Orchestra. The orchestra combined musicians from both Israel and Pallestine. In these brilliant lectures, Barenboim explains how politicians could benefit from paying attention to musicians, who learn to ‘speak’ and ‘listen’ at the same time to produce a harmonious cacophony - perhaps parallel to the kaleidoscopic maelstrom of the swirling masses we find in cities worldwide.

But there are those who would argue that it’s not music that changes the world – it is in fact politics. And there are others that would argue that it’s not music or politics – but fools.

Another South American legend of grass roots activism was also concerned with reducing violence in his home town of Bogota, Colombia. But Antanas Mockus is not your regular kind of activist. He became mayor of Bogota. In his term as mayor, he reduced violent crime by half. His methods were unusual. He sacked the entire traffic police force, riddled with corruption, and successfully replaced them with a troupe of mime artists (the police were offered their jobs back on the condition that they retrain in mime). Check out this documentary on Mockus, perhaps the most unusual politician the world has ever seen.

Clowning, and tomfoolery, is a fascinating way to engage with the confrontation which occurs on our concrete streets. Take the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA), a UK organisation who use clowning to diffuse the tension so often prevalent at protests and demonstrations.

When does activism become politics? Obama began his political career in grass roots activism. Antanas Mockus went on Colombian national TV dressed as a superhero hugging a carrot, ridding the streets of rubbish (by putting litter into the bin, and by ripping advertising off walls). Mockus recently came a whisker away from becoming the world’s first green president. AfroReggae have played a significant role in the political landscape of Brazil under the leadership of Lula. CIRCA are on the frontline of protests, asking us to consider the way we negotiate public space. And an Isreali member of the West East Divan Orchestra has this to say;

“Barenboim is always saying his project is not political. But one of the really great things is that this is a political statement by both sides. It is more important not for people like myself, but for people to see that it is possible to sit down with Arab people and play. The orchestra is a human laboratory that can express to the whole world how to cope with the other.”

What’s mine is yours 2

By Julian Broadhead

When we wrote recently about the power of sharing, it sparked a great deal of discussion with family and friends. This simple strategy is seemingly on the rise, precisely because it can help us realise the many benefits of interaction, economy and efficiency. It seemed only seemed fair then, to spread the word to VivaCity followers of even more ways to share.

Where the previously highlighted Streetbank focuses on encouraging sharing and interaction within local communities, Ecomodo is a more commercially minded, transaction based system. Here, goods and services can be offered for free (similarly to Streetbank), for a fee or for a contribution to charity of your choice. All this is facilitated through the Ecomodo website, with insurance and the taking of deposits also available in order to provide assurance for all involved. The result is that although Ecomodo members do provide things for free, they are also prepared to offer the use of high-value items, which in other circumstances they might not do - you can rent or borrow anything from a candy floss maker to a dehumidifier or even a thermal imaging camera.

Another example is more obvious. First appearing in Paris, where it is known as the Velib, then as Dublinbikes and most recently as London’s Barclays Cycle Hire, the proliferation of communal bike schemes clearly points to sharing initiatives gaining traction. To use them, individuals pay a small daily, weekly or annual fee to join and can then use the bikes for short journeys (up to thirty minutes) for free or pay additional rental fees for anything longer than this. In all three cases, the schemes have been a great success, with the sight of citizens furiously pedalling identical two wheeled machines becoming ubiquitous.

That is not suggest that the schemes have been without controversy however, most notably in London, where the bikes’ association with polarising mayor Boris Johnson, and the prominent sponsorship (including naming rights) afforded to Barclays Bank, have been widely criticised. Such superficial issues though, should not distract from what is a fantastic way to get about. 

So VivaCity readers, we encourage you to go forth and share!

Paint the town

By Dagmar Hoogland

The power of Colour. We know it, when we put on a bright red jumper on a rainy day or choose that one particular magazine on a shelf just because the colours jumped out. How much of a difference colour really makes is something that is constantly explored by the Dutch artists Haas&Hahn.

In 2006, this duo started developing the idea of creating community-driven art interventions in Brazil after they worked together on a documentary about hip hop in the favelas of Rio and São Paolo. Inspired by this visit, they embarked on a journey to bring outrageous works of art to unexpected places starting with painting enormous murals in the slums of Brazil together with the local youth.

The Favela Painting Project was born, a project that aims to transform communities into landmarks and inspirational monuments as a part of Rio’s image. 

The first piece was a 150m² mural of a boy flying a kite, took three months to complete and was painted collaborating with local youth, who were recruited through the Soldados Nunca Mais program of the Ibiss Foundation. This and the second painting, were made in Vila Cruzeiro, Rio’s most notorious slum on an enormous piece of concrete to protect the hills from mudslides. The artworks received worldwide acclaim and have become points of pride in the community and throughout Rio. The latest project, completed on March 29, is Praça Cantão and is located in the heart of Rio de Janeiro.

According to Dre Urhahn, one of the Favela Painting artists “This work of art can make a colorful difference in the lives of local individuals, the community and the city of Rio. It has the potential of working as a catalyst in the processes of social renewal and change”.

They now get support from the Firmeza Foundation and found a partner/ collaborator, Akzo Nobel, who supplies them with paint.

You can follow them on Facebook and twitter and see what their act of bright bursting colours and positive collaboration will be like. We love it.

Skip around

By Dagmar Hoogland

Here’s another youngster that changes the urban environment with his own two hands. His name is Oliver Bishop-Young. 

A Goldsmith University Graduate, Oliver is now a designer that came up with an extraordinary series of installations for the public.

By converting empty skips into public spaces such as skate parks, swimming pools, living rooms and gardens he shows us a piece of very fresh DIY town planning.

A design solution for the city made out of a piece of metal that’s normally only used for trash. In his words “My work focuses on skips and looks at three main areas: exchange of waste materials, re-use of waste and making use of wasted spaces”.

He also came up with another use of the skips where people could leave unwanted items behind and write down what they’ve added to the skip on a piece of black board. On a website you could search for items required or the location of a skip and find a photo of each skip and where to find the skip (the website is called SkipWaste but is currently not active). Find out more of this project here.

Oliver has since been involved in many other exciting projects from recycled strapping to a poster of a London tube map which shows what would happen to the city when sea levels would rise.

We at VivaCity can’t wait to see what he’s up to next…

Young people

By Andy Marks

Young people. Trouble makers. No respect. Anti-social. Lazy. Don’t know how lucky they are…

Or

Young people. Energetic. New ideas. Creativity. Hope. Motivated. The future…

If you are in the latter camp, then you, like me believe in recognising, nurturing and supporting young people particularly as they will inherit the mess we helped create. Numerous VivaCity posts have celebrated some of the excellent movements in cities around the world that work with young people - the Mwelu Foundation in Nairobi, Afro Reggae in Rio, a Superhero Supply Shop in New York and holes in walls in cities around India all engage and encourage in remarkable ways. However, few of them are run by young people and have the sole aim of recognising the important work young people are already doing for their own communities, which is exactly what the Young Achievers trust does.

The Young Achievers Trust celebrates and supports the outstanding contribution of young volunteers in their communities, offering a range of rewards and support to help them achieve even more. The award scheme covers four categories - arts, environment, community and sport, so if you know a young person (16-24 years old) who is energetic, full of new ideas, creativity, hope and motivation and who is doing something to make their community or city a better place, then please nominate them here. And if you are a young achiever, you can even nominate yourself. The closing date is September 30.

If you know of similar schemes around the world, please let fellow VivaCity folk know below…

Ping pong hurrah

By Dagmar Hoogland

Londoners are in for a treat this summer. The treat of an outdoor extravanganza of table tennis in the street.

100 table tennis tables have sprung up across this capital’s most visible spaces including squares, landmarks, offices, train stations, community locations and even airports, all with one purpose in mind; to make people play. Play a game on your way to work, during lunchtime or perhaps give that 5pm meeting another spin, it’s there for you to jump in.

Ping! has been created as a partnership between the English Table Tennis Association and Sing London, the participatory arts organisation that produced last year’s Street Pianos Project with artist Luke Jerram.

And it’s free. All equipment will be provided with each table, with bats bearing the request to: “Please put me back”.

As well as challenging your neighbor, or any stranger in sight, to a face to face ping pong battle, there are also master classes, competitions and round the clock activities including coaching sessions, beat-the–robot contests, Singles For Singles, Surreal Ping Pong at the Barbican and much more.

You can find your nearset table on this map and follow Ping! on facebook and twitter to get all the latest information.

Ping! isn’t the only initiative that harnesses the secret the powers of ping pong; designer Oliver Bishop-Young has created a table tennis table in a builders skip! It is an interactive part of an event where a part of central London will be transformed into an urban orchard and community garden. The work is a continuation of a series of uses for skips around the city. Check out the urban garden and his fantastic ping pong table here

Whatever your city, ping pong has to be one the best games to play; fast, fun, flexible with space, so… Go! Point! Game! Match!