favela chic!

when i discovered this street art beauty entitled “o morro” by the dutch artist duo,  jeroen koolhaus and dre urhahn or haas and haan as they’re known, a huge smile developed on my face from ear to ear. colour your world has literally happened here in the central square of the entrance of the community of santa marta in rio de janeiro. the 7000 sq m public art project that involves local youth, teaches them new skills and provides a paycheck covers 34 houses on this hillside favela in praca cantao , rio. it’s not only the size of the project that inspires me but the colour combinations and the intensity of colour the pair have designed and utilised for this project of epic proportions. go troppo!

this is not the first favela art project the boys have worked on but most definitely the largest, most vivid and far-reaching in terms of providing new skills for the local inhabitants involved. using a flexible concept of colourful rays which can easily be expanded – haan and haas have a goal of painting the entire hillside!, which you can help to fund here, the boys and their local team went to work for an entire month bringing wonder colour to the community.

this design and art duo’s vision, visible from the centre of rio, is to “draw attention to the city’s deplorable social situation, while instilling pride and joy at the bottom of the social hierarchy.” this street art-work of sizable scale has transformed the community into a landmark, a tourist attraction and most of all an inspirational monument. inspiration enough to colour your world too! get to it.