In 2008 French urban artist nicknamed Invader began painting walls in Kathmandu. While his work didn’t generate much buzz, it provided inspiration for others to paint the town red. In the past year, 12 international muralists including popular German street artist duo, Herakut, and 25 local artists, from Kolor Kathmandu have painted 25 murals in Baluwatar, Sankhamul, Bhotahiti, Jawalakhel, and other parts of town. Their aim: to create 75 murals to represent each district in the country. The campaign is supported by Netherlands’ Prince Clause Fund and Pashupati Paints is providing the group with 800 litres of paint.
Similarly painters and graffiti artists from Artudio, a centre for visual arts, and Art Lab have been by livening up the city walls with their brushes while raising awareness on issues ranging from gender violence, to reproductive health to child abuse at the same time.“By turning public spaces into public galleries, we want to instill positivity in people,” explains Roman Bhattarai, program director of Artlab, a group based in the Valley which is involved in street-art, social-projects, designing event sets, and creating t-shirts.
However, as election date draws closer, murals around Kathmandu are in danger of once again being outdone by political sloganeering. With paintbrushes in hand, artists are gearing up for a tough battle ahead.