SECTION 3. Artwork Development
After our arrival in Kathmandu on 14 March 2013 and a brief curatorship the following day, all the artists and other participants to the trip, including myself and my 8-year-old son, began preparing the wall as early as 16 March, even though the idea as to what to depict was yet to be formed by the artists.
This essential preliminary stage entailed a very tedious and yet necessary work of removal of all the papers that had been stuck onto the wall prior to priming it.
Initially with our nails, then with made-up tools found on the street, such as nails and other metals scraps, we began cleaning up the wall relentlessly under the benevolent sun and the persistent noise pollution of pointless tooting by trucks, cars and scooters.
The wall was part of the perimeter of the Vijaya Memorial High School and Nepal Cultural Association in Dillibazar, also strangely attended, despite the name, by many children of elementary and middle school age. The constant presence of students was an auspicious and pleasant element, which provided everybody with an open and welcoming human distraction from the task at hand. The children were overall well behaved and curious, yet occasionally shy. There were also impromptu games of football, hide-and-seek and just running around in the courtyard of the school. The public passing by was often curious and always friendly, stopping by to ask questions and make contact with anybody working on the wall.
The priming of the wall was another task that duplicated endlessly to make sure that the grey underneath would not be seen.
After two days of preparation, concurrent curatorship and artists’ sessions, on 18 March, the sketch was finalised and the colours required ready to be applied.
The creation of the Social Creatives community mural was lengthy, with sections divided amongst the artists, but finally it was completed on 22 March
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After our arrival in Kathmandu on 14 March 2013 and a brief curatorship the following day, all the artists and other participants to the trip, including myself and my 8-year-old son, began preparing the wall as early as 16 March, even though the idea as to what to depict was yet to be formed by the artists.
This essential preliminary stage entailed a very tedious and yet necessary work of removal of all the papers that had been stuck onto the wall prior to priming it.
Initially with our nails, then with made-up tools found on the street, such as nails and other metals scraps, we began cleaning up the wall relentlessly under the benevolent sun and the persistent noise pollution of pointless tooting by trucks, cars and scooters.
The wall was part of the perimeter of the Vijaya Memorial High School and Nepal Cultural Association in Dillibazar, also strangely attended, despite the name, by many children of elementary and middle school age. The constant presence of students was an auspicious and pleasant element, which provided everybody with an open and welcoming human distraction from the task at hand. The children were overall well behaved and curious, yet occasionally shy. There were also impromptu games of football, hide-and-seek and just running around in the courtyard of the school. The public passing by was often curious and always friendly, stopping by to ask questions and make contact with anybody working on the wall.
The priming of the wall was another task that duplicated endlessly to make sure that the grey underneath would not be seen.
After two days of preparation, concurrent curatorship and artists’ sessions, on 18 March, the sketch was finalised and the colours required ready to be applied.
The creation of the Social Creatives community mural was lengthy, with sections divided amongst the artists, but finally it was completed on 22 March
CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE NEXT SECTION