Creating a New Narrative for Place with Paint: Jeroen Koolhaas & Dre Urhahn at TEDxPhilly

Haas&Hahn is the working title of artistic duo Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn, who bring art to unexpected places, from the hillside favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the streets of Philadelphia. The Dutch artists facilitate community-driven urban interventions with paint, working to shift the perception of what the outside world has of people and place, while bringing positive attention to often-disenfranchised communities and neglected spaces.

Haas&Hahn's large-scale painting projects span multiple buildings, covering urban landscapes with explosions of color. Their much-heralded Favela Painting projects in Brazil worked to create a new narrative for place in some of Rio's most notorious neighborhoods.

It's hard to ignore the visual impact of their projects, but Haas&Hahn's work is about more than paint. Residents transform their own neighborhoods and take ownership of their hard work, generating widespread community pride. The highly visible projects also help to establish a new line of communication with the greater public about a neighborhood's identity, delivered by the people who live and work within the community.

In September 2011, Haas&Hahn began working in the United States in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on a major public art project set to transform yet another neglected region of a city -- North Philadelphia. The project, in collaboration with the City of Philadelphia's Mural Arts Program, is currently in-progress (as of April 2012).

http://www.favelapainting.com

http://www.phillypainting.org

The 2011 TEDxPhilly conference examined vast interpretations of the theme "The City" on Tuesday, November 8. TEDxPhilly brought together engaging speakers, performers, participants and exhibitors to deconstruct, decipher and explore some of the greatest challenges, innovations, concepts and realities that shape and are shaped by cities and their inhabitants. Philadelphia was the point of departure, but the conversation traveled beyond its borders. The event took place at Temple Performing Arts Center in North Philadelphia.

http://www.tedxphilly.com

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[Evelyn Carrasco]

great video!!! I admire you job!!!! congrats for you!!!!