The project is called "Let's Colour", a worldwide initiative to transform grey spaces with colorful paint. They strive to rejuvenate depressing, dirty, crumbling streets, houses, schools and squares with shockingly bright, cheerful paint colors.
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What a difference this must make in people's attitudes about where they live. Countries such as Brazil, India, France, and the UK have had the good luck of receiving assistance through this project. But wait til you see some images...Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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In the top left image, you can get a feel for the density of the housing and the depressing, oppressive feeling one must have gotten before color was introduced.
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Graffiti be gone. Ah, so much better...Johpur, India
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This painting marathon consisted of a school and a community square. Aren't those colors just edible? The transformation is just incredible. You can see a little of what the team was starting with in the first top left image.
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But just look at this. Speaking to a group of local women after, they told the project leaders that they love the bright new color because it was like a smile every morning.
You might be wondering- how were colors selected? Was it arbitrary? Given what I've been digging up about this endeavor, by working with local businesses and the community, the project leaders show great cultural sensitivity.
Update: Just emailed with a rep from Let's Colour and she explained in more detail:
A broad colour palette was chosen by the AkzoNobel Global Aesthetic Centre in Amsterdam. This palette was based on global research that identifies popular colours and colour combinations by market. Also among these colours were some of the 2011 Colour Futures colours, again based on similar global research by the Aesthetic Centre. This broader palette was then simplified by the Euro RSCG creative team, TV Director (Adam Berg) and Stink Production's Art Director (Kem White) to create a colour flow that runs fluidly throughout the 4 cities painted taking into consideration the colour trends per country.
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Jodhpur, for example, is called the blue city for a reason.Aulnay-sous-Bois, France
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Some architects might cringe at the idea of painting over the purity of a concrete structure, but I say, it's SO much more lively now!London, England
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Virginia Primary School in Tower Hamlets. If you were a kiddo, wouldn't this transformation from stodgy brick to cheerful brights be a welcome change?
These projects will ultimately be shown in a full-length documentary. Here's another clip from the film in progress. I'm keeping my ears perked for any more information on that. To learn where they are heading next, you can keep up to date on the Let's Colour blog. Where should they go now?