Partizaning - Urban Trend: Participatory Urbanism
Partizaning
Moscow, Russia
Urban Trend: Participatory Urbanism
Participatory Urbanism, 2013
2 min., 59 sec.
Learn more about Participatory Urbanism on 100urbantrends.org: http://www.bmwguggenheimlab.org/100ur...
This video was commissioned as part of Participatory City: 100 Urban Trends from the BMW Guggenheim Lab, on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum from October 11, 2013 - Jan 5, 2014. Learn more at http://www.guggenheim.org/100urbantrends.
Bio:
Partizaning (eng.partizaning.org) is a loose collective of creative urbanists based in Russia who create self-motivated, unauthorized statements and unsolicited actions as key drivers of social and cultural change. "Partizaning" is a term that the group created to define a new phenomenon and strategy at the intersection of street art and social activism. Their work is centered around promoting the idea of art-based DIY activism aimed at rethinking, restructuring, and improving urban environments and communities.
The video and project were created by two members of the collective: Shriya Malhotra, an urbanist, social researcher, and community artist, and Anton Polsky (MAKE), a street artist, art historian, and activist.
Statement:
In May 2012, Shriya and MAKE installed two bright yellow mailboxes in an area of Moscow, asking people what they would like to change about their district. The text on the mailbox encouraged people to write letters and suggested that if people knew and could identify problems in their urban environment, they could start to try to fix those problems themselves: "Write what is missing in your area and drop a message in the box. We will make a map of the problems and wishes and we will try to fulfill them, or find someone who could do it better than we could. We collect opinions, complaints, and suggestions and try to execute them solely on enthusiasm. Nobody is paying us for it. So remember that the many things that bother you can be fixed by your own hands."
After an overwhelming response of more than 60 letters including hand-drawn maps, funny notes, pages-long typed missives, and suggestions from children and elderly people alike, they decided to collaborate on an expanded project that involved local authorities, urban institutions, and activists to directly respond to the letters. The project saw the installation of 15 mailboxes in some of Moscow's most far-flung districts.