Street art has previously been an act of rebellion but has since become a celebration of creatives and an artistic medium for social progress.
Following last year’s collaboration with local artist Seth Pimentel, Converse continues its initiative in cities across the globe, painting sustainable murals and bringing new meaning to street art.
Members of our global Converse All Stars community of creatives have partnered with Converse to paint murals in cities across the world using Graphenstone’s ecological air purifying paint to eliminate harmful substances such as CO2, formaldehydes and gases, improving the air quality around the murals.
The paint’s lime base absorbs CO2 during the drying process, acting similar to a tree. This way, any surface coated with it becomes an active air-purifying surface that helps protect people from harmful substances. The street art campaign, which first launched globally in August 2019, has been dubbed “Converse City Forests” and is a celebration of creating together for social progress.
The Converse City Forests highlight how the Converse community of All Stars are creating sustainable art together and uniting to create a better world. The second City Forest Mural in South Africa will be located Kloof Nek, Cape Town as of 1 April 2021 painted by Cape Town Street Artist Nardstar.
Nardstar’s inspiration behind the mural is race and gender inequality:
“As an artist I am committed to the representation of women of colour in my work because I feel that this is my contribution to the fight against gender inequality. It does make a difference when women see themselves represented in art, especially in a large public mural, it is empowering.”
Converse believes that self-expression and art have the power to reflect the current times, provoke dialogue, and build bridges between us. The murals are a public call for progress in highly visible areas of each city and are bringing new meaning to street art to create a more sustainable and just future. As cities reopen and recover, the hope is that these murals can be a bright spot: provoking dialogue on the role art plays in our daily lives and on the streets, and reflecting a more sustainable and equitable future through the messages from local young creatives.
Converse is actively looking to keep the momentum going, working with local artists across the globe to support its mission to create fresh air in cities. To learn more about Converse City Forests, visit www.conversecityforests.com
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