4G (Balkans): Good Game Gendered Graffitis

The idea:
In the midst of a general financial crisis in Europe, the Balkan countries are struggling to prove themselves European enough to be treated as such. South is treated as a financial criminal, North tries to escape the post-socialist labyrinth, East remains undecided in front of a dilemma whether to join or not the EU, West fights with its belligerent past.
Furthermore, Balkans are one of the parts of Europe with high levels of gender inequality, showing a strenuous polarization between genders. The women bodies have traditionally been the unfortunate “privileged” geography for the exercise of masculinities, while facing rapes as a mean of psychological warfare during the armed conflicts of the last 100 years. Where women are not treated as the property of the men (fathers, brothers or husbands) they are considered property of the state, and therefore they shall give birth to the nation’s future proud members.
In this cultural environment, the public spaces have been a great mean for expressing, apart from others, “anti-systemic” opinions and worldviews. Activists, street artists, children, youth and adults, have used a great variety of public spaces to deliver their message to their local communities using stencil, graffiti, wall paintings and other forms of expression. Building remains, public buildings, bridges, trains, buses, streets are living witnesses of an outstanding creativity.

The key idea of this project is to motivate youth already involved in this art to use their artistic imagination whilst promoting the idea of gender equality. We intent to give Balkan youth the opportunity to come out of the local level and, through the implementation of competitions, events and publications, to gain visibility as part of an art that shares indiscriminately pure cultural knowledge.

Objectives:

• Promote the visibility of Balkan youth street art, and more specific the work of amateur graffiti artists.
• Promote local cultures as source of knowledge.
• Promote the values of gender equality.
• Empower youth graffiti artists with theoretical background regarding gender equality.
• Fight against gender discrimination in the Balkans.
• Promote co-operation between individuals, groups and organizations active in the street arts in the Balkans.