It must be the most beautiful alley in Drenthe. Commissioned by entrepreneurs and local residents of the Wilhelminastraat in Emmen, these artists transform the passage between that street and the parking lot behind it into a colorful passage.
Local resident Franc Stantic says on behalf of De Linde (that is the Association of Owners) that many fellow residents experience the alley as unsafe. “It was always a dingy alley, with graffiti that wasn’t as nice as it is now.”
Many residents of the flats above and in the neighborhood are already elderly and are bothered by illegal graffiti sprayers, loitering youth or urinating in public in the passageway. Entrepreneurs, such as the hairdresser, the fishmonger and the bowling alley owner also like to see the alley brightened up.
“The intention is to create a safer feeling for the people who walk under this,” says Stantic. He himself lives above the alley.
The residents and entrepreneurs joined forces and collected money to refurbish the alley. They received help from the Neighborhood Culture Fund and approval from the municipality of Emmen. Artist Karin Siebring was approached with the question whether she could give the hall a new impetus.
“It is both an art project and a social project and that appeals to me,” says Siebring with a spray can in her hand. She produces all kinds of landmarks from the city on the wall, such as the Hondsrugtoren, café De Brasserie and the large church on the market square.
Furthermore, the four natural elements are discussed in drawings of water, fire, air and earth. Dolmens are not missing and a lime tree, which until a few years ago showed off along the street just in front of the alley, will also be given a place. “We had to return it to the wall from the residents.”
Siebring enlisted the help of graffiti artist Jim Haan from The Hague. A well-known name in the world, whose work you don’t just spray over. “I often get jobs like this. It’s the best cure for illegal graffiti. If you put a million-dollar Picasso in a place like that, it will have a name over it next week,” he laughs.
The art has a coating, so that any other paintwork can easily be washed off. The job is now done and Emmen can enjoy perhaps the most beautiful alley in Drenthe.
2023-08-06 13:53:10
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