Naples: the ninth mural of the #assafà project has been inaugurated

The ninth mural of the #assafa' project, inaugurated today in Naples, is inspired by listening. Begun in November 2018, the project involved 26 local education workshops across the city, involving a total of 1700 children and 220 staff, in an educational journey that places art as the cornerstone of disseminating values ​​related to engagement with the local area and a sense of beauty and care for it. After the first six months of work on selecting "values" as key words for the creation of the street art works, the participating artists will be ready to create them from July to the end of October. The city will thus see its spaces and landmarks transformed, as a path will be traced where children from each neighborhood will be able to identify. Additionally, a rap song has been produced with Neapolitan artists that embodies the "values" chosen by the children. "Our project specifically aims to redevelop the suburbs and degraded areas, through strong messages," said Mayor Luigi de Magistris, "imbued with the fundamental principles of community—in this case, listening, which means understanding, sharing, brotherhood, and solidarity." For the mayor, the project "is of great value because it brings together local education, the City, the Municipalities, the local area, and the community." "It's a way to care for the area and turn gray, dark, degraded, or sad places into vibrant ones," he added. "In this case, yellow, with a floating island that, according to the boys' suggestions, represents listening." Through street art, therefore, the places where young people live are regenerated, giving them the opportunity to express themselves and, with fun and a desire to never give up, to add color to their city. Six murals were unveiled in August 2019, in the neighborhoods of San Giovanni a Teduccio, Bagnoli, Soccavo, Gianturco, Miano, and Ponticelli, inspired respectively by the values ​​of trust, inclusion, community, change, vitality, and rebirth. Since the beginning of September, three more murals have been unveiled: Arenaccia, San Pietro a Patierno, Ponticelli, Pendino, Barra on Wednesday, and Pianura next week. "'Assafa," explained Councilor for Social Policies Roberta Gaeta, "enhances the educational program already implemented by individual schools and, through urban redevelopment projects, raises young people's awareness of their local area, fostering a sense of care and belonging." "We are working hard to put the suburbs at the center and fill them with beauty, visions, and vitality," she concluded, "because the people of this city deserve to be listened to, welcomed, and cared for. Children, teenagers, and adults deserve to be protagonists in the places they live in, to rebel against degradation, and to care for their local area."