Sustainable street art adding beauty and impetus to the energy transition process

Adding color to towns and cities, especially in the most neglected and derelict areas, while simultaneously using graffiti to get a social or environmental message across to the local community: this is the principle behind sustainable street art, a practice that’s been growing worldwide for many years, transforming streets, sometimes even entire neighborhoods, into outdoor art galleries. And this is the spirit that underpins the Urban Project, an education and training initiative established in Termini Imerese, a major industrial town in the province of Palermo, Sicily. It came about thanks to a collaborative agreement between Enel Green Power and the Pittamuri - literally, “wall painters” - a group of artists that, since 2018, has been frescoing and embellishing the town’s most neglected areas. Over the past few months, the Pittamuri have taught around 200 students from a series of middle schools as well as an art high school about the culture of “sustainable” graffiti art, its origins, techniques and modes of expression. And, once the Pittamuri had shown them the ropes, it was the turn of the students to get painting: armed with spray cans and a variety of other street artist tools, they used a section of the outer perimeter of the “Ettore Majorana” power plant to explain the energy transition process, with colorful images of wind turbines in fields of crops. These might transform into children's toys. Other images included electric cars stopped at charging stations and scooters passing alongside green pastures brimming with flowers, or light bulbs drawing energy directly from plants. The purpose is to raise awareness about the fact that renewable energy respects the environment and helps to protect biodiversity, in addition to decarbonizing the planet. The slogan is “Energy 4 the future.” As part of the project’s second phase, the Pittamuri will paint two large murals, inspired by local tradition, on the walls around Termini Imerese. The first will depict one of the nymphs of Himera holding the new city of Termini Imerese, while the second will be of Crison of Himera, a hero of the ancient Greek Olympics, to whom the city stadium is dedicated. “Every day, our work is aimed at moving further along the path towards a sustainable energy system. To this end, we’ve come up with an innovative approach to sharing these issues with the younger generations, and this will undoubtedly be of great benefit to them when they are called upon to face these issues in their everyday lives. Thanks to the Urban Project, these young people will have the opportunity to express, through Hip Hop art, their ideas and their belief that change is possible, just as they did during the classroom sessions. The Urban Project will enable us to achieve two key objectives: to raise young people’s awareness of these issues by involving them in the ongoing transition process and to add a touch of color to the area around the Ettore Majorana power plant." Giuseppe Fumarola, Plant Manager of the “Ettore Majorana” Thermal Power Plant “I’d like to thank Enel and everybody who is working, with great dedication, towards the realization of this project, and in particular the Pittamuri and the 200 students at the lower secondary schools, at the Liceo Classico G. Ugdulena, Artistico e Alberghiero (for Classical Studies, Art and Hotel Management) who, for more than five months, have been committed to this exceptional educational project, Sustainable Graffiti, in which they have helped raise awareness of complex concepts like the energy transition through these marvelous art forms. Encouraging the spread of environmental culture is certainly one of the objectives of this administration. And that’s why this initiative, which focuses on respect for the environment through art, received such an enthusiastic welcome.” Maria Terranova, Termini Imerese’s mayor The open power of graffiti This isn't the first time we have enthusiastically embraced graffiti art and encouraged street artists to create works through which they can convey messages to help people reflect and make important and responsible choices. We’ve been doing this since 2018 with “Open Power to Art,” through which very young artists, aged between 5 and 12, are entrusted with giving electrical substations and other facilities a makeover. Because the main strength of graffiti art lies in its message. The most acclaimed artists are also those who aren't afraid to broach current and sensitive issues, promoting inclusion, peace, the future of the planet and action against climate change. The ability of graffiti to reach a vast audience with simple, direct messages has prompted us to provide artists with spaces where they can express themselves freely, and to contribute, together with them, to the redevelopment of areas and neighborhoods, or to education-related initiatives. Because the energy of street art is also about the environment, inclusion and sharing values that are important to the community.

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Sustainable street art adding beauty and impetus to the energy transition process