Street Art Placemaking at the Old Granary Danube Waterfront in Belgrade
At the wild side of Belgrade’s Danube waterfront, lies a magnificent former Old Granary, a concrete and steel landmark of another era. The complex is situated in a derelict industrial area, and embraced by local multicultural community of citizens, artists and entrepreneurs as an urban living lab. The Water Staircase Mural project uses street art and placemaking to turn an old riverbank staircase into a tiny shared space to touch the river and celebrate Old Granary’s beauty.
Local
Serbia
Project was supported by BINA, 17th Belgrade International Architecture Week in May-June 2022. BINA is a annual joint manifestation of Architecture Society of Belgrade, Cultural Center of Belgrade, City of Belgrade and Ministry of Culture and Information of Republic of Serbia. 17th BINA was also supported by Visegrad Fund.
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-06-19
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Placemaking Western Balkans Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Milena Last name of representative: Ivkovic Gender: Female Nationality: Serbia If relevant, please select your other nationality: Netherlands Function: CEO Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Palmoticeva 27 Town: Belgrade Postal code: 11000 Country: Serbia Direct Tel:+381628368230 E-mail:milena.ivkovic@placemakingweb.org Website:http://www.placemakingweb.org
The Water Staircase Mural project came to life in summer of 2022, when Association Placemaking Western Balkans (PWB) was invited by BINA (Belgrade International Architecture Week) to stage a collaborative placemaking intervention and demonstrate how street art can transform unique features of former industrial riverside environment to make something extraordinary for the citizens. The action was part of the 17th BINA’s “Good Urban Life” programme segment, aimed to showcase to the audiences the richness of possible uses of public space in various part of the city.
The placemaking intervention was defined as a 1- day collaborative workshop between citizens, visitors of BINA, and muralist Sanja Momčilović, curated by Placemaking Western Balkans. (PWB) The Old Granary (“Silosi”) art gallery situated in the original granary building, embraced the idea of having a placemaking action in front of their event space, acknowledging the basic concept of the intervention as innovative in combining artistic co-creation with sustainable physical transformation and social inclusion. The size, scale and scenographic value of the old concrete staircases leading straight to the river in front of the Old Granary made a perfect canvas for a horizontal mural, and an affordable addition to the Silosi’s attractiveness, existing artefacts and riverfront landscape features.
PWB has recognised the potentials of the location and the collaboration between BINA and Silosi as an unique opportunity for introducing placemaking tools and methods for sustainable urban renewal of neglected public spaces together with citizens on the local level. As official partner of the NEB initiative and active member of the NEB community, PWB has implemented the Water Staircase Mural as a demonstration to the core NEB values of creating beautiful, sustainable cities together in the Balkans and South East Europe region.
placemaking
heritage
waterfront
mural
community
1.Environmental sustainability objective: the placemaking intervention and the making of the horizontal mural need to be responsive to the immediate heritage context and natural environment, without disturbing it or harming it.
The result: The mural is implemented in a way that no physical alternations of the stairs were needed, and the unique river landscape ecosystems were not endangered. Before the intervention, the staircases were an unattractive space, covered with waste and natural deposits of the river, so its implementation showed a good example of small scaled fixing of environmental degradation with artistic intervention that respects the natural and physical characteristics of the waterfront.
2.Financial sustainability objective: use simple and affordable materials (colours) within the budgets and human resources of the supporting organisations.
The result: The realisation maximised on the existing capacities of the involved parties, and used voluntary time contributions and donations from the Silosi art gallery and BINA audiences. The projects showed that it is possible to achieve good results in small scale public upgrades with low investment and maintenance costs
3.Social sustainability objective: provide solution which can include everyone in the process of making, regardless of age, gender and ability, under the guidance of the professional muralist. The placemaking intervention should serve both as artistic expression as well as an informal education on how to use art in enhancing the sense of belonging to a place.
The result: visitors of BINA and the regular users from the surrounding local community were in open design and dialogue process with the muralist, adapting the initial sketch and assisting in implementation. Because of this the project is an example on how creating a “common”, shared art helped increasing the attachment, curiosity and motivation among BINA audience and local users to see and use public space differently.
1.Unique aesthetics objective: The Water Staircases should not be just another mural, and also not just a simple re-painting of the piece of riverfront infrastructure.
The result: the abstract design of the horizontal mural is responsive to the cascading quality and rough nature of the staircases. It is an example showing that concrete utility infrastructure can also serve as a colourful carpet inviting to sit and enjoy the river, rather than being just a physical barrier.
2. Acknowledgement of the industrial heritage context objective: Old Granary with its high towers and industrial fixtures is a strong symbol of industrial revolution and importance of Danube as trade and manufacturing route. The renewal of the surrounding grounds and its transformation to high quality public space should be in harmony with this glorious past.
The result: The Water Staircases mural provided a new piece in the visual puzzle of the Old Granary. It is an example of how to connect existing street art on the high granary walls with the river, and provide a logical visual extension.
3. Enrich the experience of being at the riverfront objective: Although the larger context of the Old Granary is still predominantly abandoned industrial terrain, it offers an opportunity to connect to the river and the nature in an informal way,
The result: The mural contributed to the positive transformation of rusty piece of utility infrastructure, increasing it’s attractiveness and decreasing the sense of abandonment, It is example of how small scale interventions can contribute to re-establishing human scale and sense of place in an area dominated by large buildings and spaces.
1. Public art is for everyone objective: The Water Staircases mural should clearly communicate that public art in public space is there for everyone, to connect, inspire and offer framework for emotional and physical well-being.
The result: guided by this values, the design of the mural was co-created and adopted in an open dialogue during the 1-day intervention. This approach gives a good example of how listening to the diverse interpretations and aesthetic values of different groups involved in the “making of” public space art results in a unique visual solution and sense of being respected and a part of a tangible creative process.
2. Urban riverfronts are spaces of social life and just city for all objective: the character of urban waterfronts are not always open and inviting. The pressure of exclusion due to commercial re-development is high in Belgrade, often resulting in public space design features which exclude informal street art solutions accessible to everyone. This affects especially the youth and vulnerable, who have trouble in finding safe inspirational and pleasant public space to satisfy their needs.
The result: regardless of the possible commercial redevelopment of the Old Granary area and the risk of losing the uniques combination of the rough river landscape in an industrial heritage backdrop, the Water Staircases mural sets the example of how to lay out a foundation for public space in which small interventions can co-exist with other functions and offer something new.
The Old Granary location is a part of the larger former industrial area along the Danube in the eastern part of Belgrade. It has lost the majority of its port and logistics activities in the 90es and early 2000, leaving the large warehouses and other facilities (railway, smaller factories, storages, power plants) in different levels of decay or in partial use. Historically, the area presented a concrete barrier between the residential parts of the surrounding neighbourhood and the river. Decades of decreased use resulted in unintended restoration of nature in some parts, which contributed to the location’s reputation of having a unique skyline. The Old Granary was one of the first buildings to serve as an experiment and an urban lab for civil society, small entrepreneurs and citizens’ organisation on how to revitalise former industrial areas through creative industries and other various experimentations.
The Water Staircase mural project is an extension of variety of small-scaled initiatives in the area, most of them with a temporary characters, since new urban planning schemes propose a large commercial redevelopment of the area in combination with a “Linear park” on the former railway in the next 5 years. The collaboration between BINA, (city-supported non profit cultural event) PWB (knowledge and urban think-tank non profit) and Silosi art gallery (main stakeholder) behind the realisation of the Water Staircases aims to keep the area alive and attractive for the citizens in the surrounding neighbourhoods, allowing them to maintain access to the riverfront as the only space nearby where they can share a moment with the other people around them, and have the feeling of being somewhere, in a lovable and familiar place.
The stakeholders involved in this small-scale public art and placemaking project are quite diverse, which says something about the importance of the location has in the larger urban context of city of Belgrade.
At the very starting level, there is an individual muralist, Sanja Momcilovic, in direct implementation of the mural. Her previous work include several traditional wall murals in the large housing blocks of City of Pancevo, (just outside of Belgrade) commissioned by the local citizens’ organisations, transmitting strong social messages in a way of popular culture.
At the level of local key players in the artistic and cultural scene of Belgrade, the directly involved stakeholder Silosi art gallery which occupies the Old Granary and manages it as art and event space have been directly involved in developing the concept of connecting the stairs with other street art they are realising as part of their cultural mission.
PWB association as the lead and curator of the project, envisioned the project as an introductory exercise in placemaking, raising awareness about its collaborative tools and methods for urban space transformation. PWB has created the participatory methodology which allowed immersion of the citizens with the artistic practice and in direct action of reclaiming a place on the waterfront.
Finally BINA and its managing organisation Belgrade Cultural Center acted as a municipal cultural stakeholder, giving a relevance and credit to the placemaking action and a needed visibility by placing it under the official citizens’ workshop programme of the Architecture Week and its various national and European partners.
The added value of the engagement of these different stakeholders is that it gave a special sense of cultural connection, environmental urgency and shared commonality which is an important part of the Water Staircases mural appeal.
The Water Staircase project is a pioneering project in the field of placemaking in Belgrade in terms of that it was one of the first ones performed as placemaking direct grass-roots action, incorporating NEB set of values and integrating art with public space design and civic participation.
PWB has shaped this placemaking process by working in parallel with the muralist and the citizens who applied through BINA as interested in concrete action at the waterfront outside of the Old Granary. The interested groups of citizens were able to choose the patterns in the initial mural sketch made by the artist, and use open dialogue (moderated by PWB experts in participatory urban design and co-design tools). BINA experts and curators (with background on architecture and art history) positioned the workshop in their programme and the Architecture Week catalogue, elevating the level of importance of the whole project.
The added value of this approach is the creation of new networks, methods and out-of-the box ways of cultural production, the one firmly grounded solving concrete challenges for the communities and stakeholders gravitating towards the Old Granary and generally towards neglected Danube waterfront areas with industrial heritage.
Audience:The 1-day intensive workshop started with a small group of citizens (less then 20) who applied for it as a part of the BINA’s official field programme. The first part of the workshop was dedicated to preparing the stairs itself, plus the open dialogue and moderated mural sketch discussion with conclusions on the final design. The second part of the workshop was the actual execution of the mural, with the short introduction on colouring techniques and how to use “colour-by-number” sketch for each step of the Water Staircase. The citizens group (mostly from the surrounding neighbourhoods) grew in numbers towards the end of the workshop, with predominantly younger participants (students and young adults) willing to spend hours on making the mural.
The indirect audience was engaged through the Old Granary open-air independent programme on the same day, so the co-creation of the mural and it execution benefitted greatly from 30+ curious bystanders, willing to give a hand and participate in applying the original design. In the evening when the paint dried, the mural became one of the main new attractions for the open-air club nearby.
Visibility: the hosting Old Granary art gallery has used its 2000+ Instagram followers to post the “minute-by-minute” process. Other partners has spread the photographs and posts across their social media channels, reaching out in total more than 3000 followers.
Publication: BINA has published extended essay on the placemaking process showcased at the Old Granary in their official catalogue, and organised professional photographer to document the whole creative process.
Indirect beneficiaries: the beauty of the whole mural is especially good visible from many small private recreational boats criss-crossing the Danube. The old Granary just got an inviting “red carpet” for occasional tourist to come over. A local restaurant at the other side of the river was particularly pleased with the new colourful and attractive solution f
During the years of professional development, the expert members of Placemaking Western Balkans association (PWB) came across different kind of hands-on placemaking actions with citizens. Some of them were aimed at activism, some of them at collective mapping of urban environment, some using all kind of other formats (e.g. “parking day”) to activate public space for the communal benefit, or convey message about what citizens need and want from the public space to those responsible at governing level.
The innovative aspect of the Water Staircase mural was the genuine approach to street art as a tool for placemaking not as a singular expression of one single artist /placemaker but rather as a group effort, using collective imagination of the citizens. Besides being a format which blurred the lines between the artist and the audience, it is also a format with strong innovative approach to education about the waterfronts, what can and can not be done, how the nature (river) acts in its natural cycles, and realisation that industrial heritage can have the same level of attractiveness as the traditionally labelled built heritage. Finally, it redefined what public space and a waterfront in particular mean when it comes to placemaking actin - the Water Staircase mural allowed the whole surroundings of the Old Granary to become an integral artwork, connected to everyday lives.
The particular street art placemaking methodology which PWB has developed was the following:
Preparatory analysis of the sit, together with the direct stakeholders - the Old Granary art gallery and event space managers, understanding their perspective and needs, and learning about the history of the Old Granary
Preparatory analysis of the BINA “Good Urban Life” programme: what kind of workshop interaction is needed, how much knowledge about placemaking is present among BINA experts, but generally among culture and civic sector.
Sketch development together with muralist Sanja Momcilovic with “colour-by-numbers” options to involve laymen citizens.
Moderation storyline development, for guiding the active dialogue with the citizens and stakeholders involved. Interview with the citizens’ collectives present in the area, whose main concern is nature and river preservation.
Workshop execution with the logistic and material support of BINA staff
Continuous “live” reporting on social media on how the mural takes shape by Old Granary art director and BINA staff, to raise attention and the cool factor of the whole intervention.
Celebrations of projects finalisation with a small picnic on the spot
Afterlife of the project: sharing and writing about the positive impact of the whole process
The Water Staircase horizontal mural approach and method can be used for
The urban waterfronts with neglected utility infrastructure
Urban waterfronts with industrial heritage who need to regain the trust of wider public that they can be valuable social, cultural and recreational spaces
Boosting the local talents in street art, offering them to step out of the vertical wall dimension, and express their skills in a different, horizontal setting.
Transferring knowledge on how to find, connect and motivate various stakeholders in waterfront public space and urban heritage renewal and preservation, and present them with new perspectives
To use specific art form to re-connect people to the place in a way that it becomes meaningful for them, inclusive and inviting.
The local solution provided by the Water Staircases mural addresses directly
uncontrolled urbanisation, densification and gentrification which many cities worldwide experience, especially on the edges of rivers, water bodies, or other urban nature features
Loss of local character and cultural heritage due to intensive urbanisation pressures
Redefinition of what utility infrastructure can be, and how to integrate it with functions other than being just a technical fixture.
Democratisation of the process of how we transform small-scaled public spaces which can have great impact in improving everyday life and mental health of the citizens.
Opening up public space for everyone by opening up the practice and process of artistic and culture production in public space
Embracing temporary solutions in the public realm
