A little over a year ago, we did something strange.
We grabbed some cans of spray paint and went out onto the street. Not for painting murals. Not making art for art’s sake. we went out painting the pit On a road which the municipality was ignoring for months. Maybe years. Who can count now?
Yes, you read that right. We painted the holes.
Why would anyone do that?
two reasons.
small reason: We wanted the holes to be fixed. People were destroying their cars on that road every day. We called the municipality. Nothing. We sent emails. Nothing. The usual complaints in the usual Facebook groups went nowhere. So we tried a different language. The language of color and visibility. If they won’t see the hole, we’ll make sure they can’t No Check it out.
big reason:We wanted to show people this you can really do something. Cursing the government on the bus, cursing the mayor at dinner, and cursing fate at the kitchen table doesn’t fix a single hole. Action takes place. Even small, strange, slightly silly actions.
“Nothing will change”
That’s what some people told us before we started.
“You’re wasting your time.” “No one cares.” “That’s the way it is here, my friend, nothing will ever change.”
I understood. I really do. there is indifference cheapest defense system We have it. If you decide in advance that nothing will work, you will never have to be disappointed when something doesn’t work out. You too don’t feel anything when something happens does Work, but that’s the option some people choose.
We did it anyway.
what actually happened
A few things, roughly in this order:
- People stopped along the way, took pictures and laughed.
- Local media picked it up.
- The municipality (surprise) repaired the holes within a few weeks.
- Some neighbors who had told us “nothing would change” fell silent. Some said, “Okay, but it was an accident.”
And again, Sophia
Here’s the part I like most.
A few weeks ago, the same thing happened on a street in Sofia, Bulgaria. Different city. Same idea. People went out, found a hole that the municipality was pretending not to see, and it became impossible to ignore. Spray, cameras and a little noise. It’s enough to turn a hole in the asphalt into a story.
this time show tv. A real team. A real segment. The crater, the bright colors around it, the smiling neighbors, all on the morning news. The municipality then suddenly remembered that the road existed.
Do I know the people who did this?
Let’s just say I’m not surprised. Suppose thoughts travel. Let’s say they travel through articles, through conferences, through coffee, and sometimes they travel from a painted hole on one road, in another country, to another painted hole on another road a year later. Suppose I might have a personal reason to smile at this particular news segment.
I will not say anything more than this.
The issue is not who did it. the thing is this someone did. Someone saw it, took the idea, made it their own, and set out on their own road.
This is how it should work.
The campaign wasn’t really about potholes
there were pits Forgiveness. The real campaign was against something that was much more difficult to fix than a damaged road. This was against the notion that ordinary people could not move the system forward.
you can. Not always. Presumably not. Not on your desired timeline. But you can.
So here’s the playbook, if you want one:
- Choose something small. Not a totally broken system. A pit. A hint. An absurd rule.
- Make it visible. Spray paint, photos, videos, a sticker, a banner. Some responsible people will have to either fix or explain.
- Get a friend. Just one. Two people is already a movement when most people are doing nothing.
- Expect the “nothing will change” crowd. They will be visible. Smile at them. keep going.
- Document it. So the next person sees that it worked, and tries something of their own.
A word about artism
This story of potholes is not of one time. It’s part of something bigger we call artism.
Artism is a collectivity. The idea is simple. Art is not just for galleries. A pencil, a brush, a camera, a sticker, a song, a poster, these are not just tools of decoration but also tools of change. We try to show people through real examples that whatever creative skill you have, you can use it to make the world a little bit better.
You don’t have to wait for permission. You don’t need to be a famous artist. You don’t have to have a budget.
Our slogan is short and we understand every word of it:
With a little pencil you can change the world.
That’s not a poster line. This is the whole strategy.
If you want to see more examples of art-driven change, take a look at our exhibition SystemErr0.
one last thing
A pothole on the road is a pothole on the road. But spraying glitter on a pothole, taking photos, sharing and laughing about it is something else entirely. This is a little proof that citizens and the system are not as far apart as we would like to think.
You can do this. Not for every problem. Not every time. But more often than you believe right now.
Some people will say that nothing will change.
Do it anyway.
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