Street Art and Climate Awareness: Public Expression for Change

The blank canvas was a boring idea. A classic, yes, but an undeniably boring method. Maharani stared at the white canvas for what felt like an eternity, before she decided to take a breather. She placed her paint brush down and headed out her painting room. She didn’t like how the storm in her mind made her unable to find inspiration for her project as a local artist with demanding fans.

She kicked the 2nd floor balcony door open and felt a gush of wind hit her face. The air smelt of smoke and fire as she looked down and noticed that her neighbor was burning his plastic waste along with several other materials, organic and inorganic. She felt upset as she thought that she couldn’t get even a breath of fresh air in Jakarta anymore.

In the distance, she sees a long road lined up with cars and motorcycles. People were hustling and bustling to get to work early at 6.30 a.m. on a Monday morning, honking horns and screaming their irritations out at those who were blocking their way. Maharani just stood and stared at the people, frustrated upon the loud noises that were worsening her already stressed condition.

Nearly giving up, she turned and kicked the door of her balcony door and was about to go in, only to hear the sounds of spraying. Someone was spraying something nearby. Another sound, loud laughs from a group of people, rang her ears. Again, she turned and leaned over the railing of her balcony to find a few girls spray painting a wall.

She didn’t know how long she stood there. Probably around an estimated time of 30 minutes. She watched as the teenage girls made a mural, from start to finish. Just a few splashes of colors, not much of an actual depiction of an object, just colors that were bright and contradicted her art style.

Though what she noticed towards the end was the smiles. The joy they had in doing what they were doing, in the likelihood of not even having understood the foundation of art. Maharani felt a mixed feeling in her gut as she judged the disoriented mural. She felt disturbed at the weird color palette but giddy seeing all the girls expressing.

Expressing. EXPRESSION. MURAL. An idea voiced through her head.

Maharani wasted no time and ran back to her painting room. She got out a bigger canvas that was stashed behind a cabinet. She positioned it and was about to paint when doubt struck. She had a feeling there was nothing special about a bigger canvas. What made it special?

She proceeded to rewind the earlier occurrence, it was done on a wall and made with several people. A counter idea struck her in an instant. She was going to make a mural of expression on a wall with various other artists, possibly even her fans. She planned to create a mural that allowed everyone to express their feelings for the future generation of Jakarta, in 2050.

So she started the plan. She contacted her manager to find her a wall, contacted various muralists and artists to collaborate. She placed a poll on her social media page, to select a few candidates for the project. She messaged several journalists whom she knew to come by and offered them writing content. Once she was done, she gleamed with joy and secretly thanked the girls.

The Jakarta 2050 from 2025 Mural Project was launched on Sunday morning. Everyone came. Friends, family, colleagues, fans and journalists. All came to support the project that was dedicated to society and the environment. She hoped that the large mural that was going to be painted on the wall of the local art museum was going to help the community be more aware of the current conditions Jakarta was in, good and bad.

The event started with Maharani giving an opening speech to the audience, thanking those who came at such short notice yet showed full commitment and support to this project. She beamed throughout the entire speech as she explained how this idea came to be, the purpose of this mural, what it contributes to society, and the choice of using spray paint that was different from her regular approaches.

“Artists! Spray whatever you would like to spray. Anger, fear, sorrow and joy. All of it. Spray as if Jakarta was talking through colors and the drawings!” She exclaimed.

The crowd erupted with loud applause as she went down the stage. She proceeded to the mural area, where 15 artists and 10 of her selected fans were waiting for her. She wore her painter’s smock, the paint respirator and nodded at them as they lined up to the allocated areas of the wall.

She took her place in the middle. And with a hand itching to press nozzle, she screamed,

“BEGIN!”