I live in the German city of Hannover. At the outset, Hannover is quite a grey city - it was one of the worst bombed German cities in WW2, and therefore not much is left of the beautiful, old-German style character and architecture. Instead, it has a mass of new and somewhat ugly buildings and, like with many smaller German cities, the industrial personality tends to overshadow it's charm.
However, I have found that if you look at the city a little more closely, there is something amazing to be found; a whole world of artists! Incredible street art and huge graffiti murals adorn the inner streets, bringing life and colour where you wouldn't expect it. I started to get fascinated by this landscape and I researched a little - I discovered that there is quite a history to Hannover's street art. In 1970 an initiative called 'Experiment Straßenkunst', or 'Street Art Experiment' was launched, which aimed to bring real art to the people of the city who would not otherwise have access to art. They essentially wanted to make art free to the public, and fill the public areas of the city with art, bringing a sense of personality and vibrancy to this city which had lost so much of this in the war.
As you can imagine, opinion was hugely divided over this idea. Many abhorred the thought that their city was going to be full of graffiti, which, in the 70s especially (not so much now), was often associated with vandalism and violence. Others, on the other hand, were desperate to go ahead with it, to bring life back to the city and give a voice to artists. In the end, the support group won and the programme went ahead and was extremely successful - in fact, many new initiatives were even drawn from it, including the famous 'Red Line Walk'. This is a red line that is painted on the streets, winding throughout Hannover, taking you to all the notable spots - a really great attraction for tourists and people new to the city. So, to this day, street art is a huge aspect of Hannover.
I live in an area called Linden, often known as the 'hipster' district of Hannover, and wherever I walk in my neighbourhood there is some amazing art to look at. I wanted to showcase some of it here in a blog post, to give you an idea of what you can see in Hannover, if you ever find yourself here. I absolutely love to walk around Linden and look for the street art, firstly because the art itself can be really incredible, secondly because it is continuously changing and evolving, but also because if I feel down and grey, I just have to walk a few steps to realise that there is life and creative energy running through my streets - I LOVE that!
I thought I would divide up the post into different streets/parts of Linden, to break up the vast amount of photos I have! I couldn't possibly show everything, but this at least gives you an idea of what's going on. A lot of the street art has a political message or social issue behind it, a lot of it is self-expression from that particular artist, and a lot of it is just crazy cool colour and images! Whatever it stands for, it is really interesting and absolutely beautiful, and I hope you enjoy seeing a few snapshots of it!
This is an area of Linden called Glocksee. In the last photo above you can see a whole street of graffiti art - this street is the only street in Hannover that has actually been specifically designated to the street artists, so they can do whatever the want there. It is really cool to go down there and actually watch them work too, updating images or painting over old ones.
The area that these photos were taken is called Faust. It's a really cool part of Linden - there is a whole art/culture centre, cafes and clubs, a flea market every Sunday and a nice beer garden in the summer. I love the street art that incorporates the building on which it is painted, like the garage doors, other doorways and windows. I also just love the colours of some of these spots.
I took these photos just out and about, walking through the streets of Linden, and I love how the art is just part of very normal buildings. The idea that you never know what you might see is very relevant here - whether its on houses, or kiosks, even if you just happen to spot it slightly away from the street on the side of an apartment building, it is there!
These photos come from just around my house. Again, I love how aspects of the building get incorporated into the piece of art - like in the top left photo, where this gate has been turned into a kind of jungle vault!
A couple of shots of literal street art! There are many Pokemon fans in these parts, including me.
Finally, I thought I would finish the post with this Jimi Hendrix piece, as it shares such a beautiful message.
If you ever happen to be in Hannover, I really recommend taking a gander around Linden and spotting all of the street art gems that are around here. Sometimes art galleries can feel very clinical and corporate, but this street art is raw and original, and I love what it stands for. Long live the street art!
Labels: Culture
