URBAN NATION presents: XXL Façade Art with a Message: Street Art Star Shepard Fairey realizes the 23rd One Wall in Berlin
- June 9, 2017
The world-renowned street artist Shepard Fairey has created a façade painting with an unambiguous message in Berlin-Schöneberg. The idea was implemented in cooperation with the artistic director of URBAN NATION, Yasha Young.
The wall painted by street artist, graphic artist and illustrator Shepard Fairey can be admired at the corner of Frobenstrasse/Schwerinstrasse in the Berlin district of Schöneberg. With its clear message “NO Future für Apathie! Ignoranz! Sexismus! Fremdenfeindlichkeit! Rassismus!” (“NO Future for Apathy! Ignorance! Sexism! Xenophobia! Racism!”) the artwork consciously takes a stance on current and public debates, encouraging observers to think about the issues.
“As we got together to work on the idea for the mural, the world was again shaken by acts of violence and political decisions with global implications. In the 15 years in which Shepard Fairey and I have been working together, he has always taken the side of human rights and values,” says Yasha Young, artistic director of URBAN NATION and initiator of the One Wall project.
The 23rd One Wall is a 15-x-18-meter façade that unmistakably draws attention to social problems and intolerance. “No future for negativity! Art delivers the message and using our digital platforms, URBAN NATION can achieve a multiplier effect,” explains Young. With this façade art, URBAN NATION aims to animate people to reflect on society in order to enable tolerant and open-minded co-existence. Accordingly, the fundamental motto of the new URBAN NATION MUSEUM FOR URBAN CONTEMPORARY ART, which is due to open in fall 2017, is ‘Connect. Create. Care.’
A Master of Urban Art
Shepard Fairey, who already painted a mural at Mehringplatz in Berlin-Kreuzberg for URBAN NATION in 2014, is considered by many as one of the originators of the modern urban art scene and is also regarded as a technically brilliant master of his art. He gained world fame for his striking and iconic works, which are usually a mix of parody and protest. He first grabbed the attention of a wider audience in the 1980s with his omnipresent “Obey Giant“ sticker campaign. His “Hope“ engraving for Barack Obama a few years ago made him famous among an even broader mass of people.
About the Project Series “One Wall”
Under the motto “One Wall – One Message,” internationally renowed and up-and-coming artists redesign facades at prominent locations around Berlin. Each image transports an individual artistic position. The artists assess the surroundings and design their own works accordingly. 23 “One Walls” have already been created by international artists such as Onur (Switzerland), Don John (Denmark), Shepard Fairey (USA), HERAKUT (Germany), Phlegm (United Kingdom), Li Hill (Canada) and PixelPancho (Italy).
