Local Legends: Spandau – A Painting Dhaka Project

A new Community Wall in Heerstrasse Nord

Graffiti has always been more than just graffiti, colorful trains or painted walls. Like any subculture that emerges in social hotspots, it offers a place of retreat for those who need it. A safe space, a kind of parallel society that functions away from the imposed norms. It doesn’t matter what demographic group you come from, how rich or poor you were or what religion you belong to. What sometimes looks like pure selfish self-fulfilment on the outside begins with the formation of a sense of self-awareness, a sense of belonging to something, a sense of attachment – often in difficult family or social situations.

Lukas Zeilinger addressed this in a workshop at the beginning of July 2024 with young visitors to Outreach’s B18 youth club. The young people’s ideas, thoughts and names for a community wall were developed and sprayed together. The aim of the workshop was to leave something positive behind for the young people, both on the wall and in their minds.

In July, Zeilinger will then develop the motifs further and artistically design the parking garage at Blasewitzer Ring 12. On August 10, there will be a celebration to mark the completion of the project with a hip-hop performance and a hip-hop battle in the parking garage itself. The project is part of the URBAN NATION Museum’s “Love Letters to the City” exhibition, which will open on September 13, 2024.

Photo parking garage: Stiftung Berliner Leben
Photos Community Wall: Diana Păun