Meet the man who mixed politics with paint.
Last week, we put the finishing touches on a mural on a 30-foot wall in the City of West Hollywood. The work showcases a collection of classic pieces of gold jewelry, arranged into a utopian narrative. (Pic #2 below). Residents tell us the image is “an uplifting addition” to the neighborhood. I had the privilege of curating the project, and always love the enthusiastic support for year-round public art projects in WEHO. The city is dedicated to celebrating the arts, and makes it a top priority. It’s no mystery why they call it “The Creative City.”
But public art isn’t always considered a normal budgetary line item for most municipalities. This, despite the fact it can change the urban landscape in profound ways. And now that we hear this story from a corner of the former Soviet Union, we learn that art in public places can even transform a city crippled by corruption and crime.
“I try to bring something of the artist in me to my politics.” So says Edi Rama, former Mayor of Tirana, the capital city of Albania. When the art professor took office, the city was described as “downtrodden” and crime was at an all-time high. The city budget was blown, and there was no funding for repairs. But Rama had one simple idea to raise the spirits of his town — so he painted a grey building bright orange.
That was just the beginning. As Mayor for eleven years of one of the poorest European capital cities, he was determined to order the city’s drab, communist-era apartment buildings to go through “a rough-and-ready makeover.” He wanted even more of the city painted in loud colors and bold designs. We’re talking pink polka dots and green stripes. Quirky angles and geometric shapes. (Pics #1 #4 #5 #6)
At first, residents resisted the changes, and other countries in the European Union asked him “to opt for more neutral colors.” He told them no. “Compromise in colors is grey,” he explained.
Moving forward with his plan, he described the transformation as palpable: “When colors came out everywhere, a mood of change started elevating the spirit of the people who lived there. Residents started to drop less litter in the streets. They started to pay taxes. They began to feel something they’d forgotten. Suddenly, beauty was giving people a feeling of being protected. This was not a misplaced feeling — crime fell.”
BTW, Edi Rama is no longer the Mayor of Tirana. He’s taken a step out of local politics. He came to power leading Albania’s socialist party in 2013, and won a landslide victory in the race for Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, the city says there’s a special energy in the streets of Tirana right now…unlike anywhere else in the Balkans: “the city is young, multiethnic, and literally multicolored.”
To hear more about the radical transformation of Tirana, and about Rama’s thoughts on how politicians can bring hope to people through seemingly small actions, watch his moving talk.
