Graffiti painting: Garage Rijeka Gallery Project

Our idea was that interested parties and individuals close to art forms of urban visual youth culture get the chance and space for creative expression. We decided to enable anyone who wants to try their hand at such a project and contribute to a nicer look of the surroundings and facility located at the very city centre on a busy traffic and pedestrian junction to do so.
The Stari Grad garage is located at Klobučarić square, and it consists of an underground garage and four buildings at the square. There are two educational institutions in the proximity (Nikola Tesla elementary school and the University of Humanities and Social Sciences Rijeka), residential and business buildings (the so-called „smart building“) and cultural-historical monuments (Kosi toranj tower, Assumption of the Virgin Mary church).
Considering the fact that the object in question is newly built (underground parking lot with access facilities) and integrated into the core of the old town, a synthesis of a traditional Mediterranean environment built into contemporary urban solutions, the idea is to enrich with painting the utilitarian space in which our companies carry out service activities with the goal of improving the quality of living for the surrounding community.

Project description:

• the competition can be entered by groups of contestants or individuals from 15 to 30 years of age.
• advantage is given to works which express the specificity of urban youth visual culture
• the subject of the competition is an area of ca. 70 square metres divided into four walls where one panel signifies one thematic unit. One wall is ca. 5 m long and 3,5 m wide, which makes the total area of one wall ca. 17,5 square metres. On one of the walls there is a window and a door.
• painting the window is permitted, while the door is exempt from the painting area

To take part in the contest, the contestants had to deliver the following:

• application with a short CV and the personal data of the contestants, i.e. members of the group, as well as the contact person's e-mail address
• idea sketch / draft of the work in colour and a written description of the theme-content
• written description of the preparatory works
• quantity description of the technique, i.e. materials, including preparations and the work itself (e.g. facade colour, pigment, car-polish, etc.)
• list of the necessary equipment (e.g. brush for wall surface cleaning, spray, paintbrush, roller, etc.)
• estimated duration of the works

All materials were to be delivered in printed or digital form until November 9th 2009 to the following address:

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art

Dolac 1/II

51000 Rijeka

(with the note: „Garaže Rijeka Gallery – contest“)

The contestants were chosen by a jury consisting of representatives of the community, the owner of the facility and experts from different areas and institutions. The jury chose the contestants based on the described works accompanied by complete necessary documentation. The basic criterion for the choice was based on the overall quality of the work. After the selection of the idea sketches, the jury assigned each work a panel with the exact dimensions and a photo and the contestants had to deliver their finished work to an e-mail address within 10 days. They were notified about it via the contact information stated in their application.
Upon finishing the painting, each work was graded by the jury and prizes were awarded to each group according to the application and their ranking. Money prizes were awarded to each contestant (group) and the total prize fund was 8.000,00 kuna:

- 1st place – 3.500 kuna

- 2nd place – 2.000 kuna

- 3rd place – 1.500 kuna

- 4th place – 1.000 kuna

Apart from the money prizes, our company provided each contestant with the necessary materials, equipment and technical requirements needed to carry out the project. Since the areas in question are areas exposed to external weather conditions, the techniques and materials had to be completely adjusted to outdoor conditions.
Our company maintained the right to publish, distribute and multiply the chosen works via various means and media in order to document and promote the company's activity, the Garaže Rijeka Gallery project, the event and the contestants included in the project, in whichever way deemed appropriate.