Impact

COLOR IS CHANGING WORLDS

Rainbow Village in Palmitas. Pachuca, Mexico. Courtesy of Germen Crew.

Courtesy of Germen Crew. Rainbow Village. Palmitas. Pachuca, Mexico.

Color within community can be healing and awakening, which is exactly what it has done for two cities, one in Mexico and the other in Brazil. Artists and organizations are working together to awaken buildings with beauty, bringing out the culture and story of the cities, while supporting urban renewal.

GERMEN CREW

The village of Palmitas, in the city of Pachuca, Mexico, is full of history, having been a silver mining center in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is also the home of the first fútbol team in Mexico.

In an attempt to revitalize the city and bring about social transformation, the government of Mexico and Germen Crew, a youth organization of street artists, worked together, this past summer, to paint colorful murals across 209 hillside house facades.

Now, with their city brightened by bright colors, the residents’ moods brightened, as did their prospects. Crime rates dropped and employment rates increased. That is some beautiful color!

HAAS&HAHN

From the slums of Rio to the streets of Philadelphia, painters Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn (aka Haas&Hahn) hope to bring art and color to communities by painting entire neighborhoods, in their installation series entitled Favela Painting.

In the district of Santa Marta, in Rio de Janeiro, Haas&Hahn have been working with local people to paint 34 homes, with more to come.

Late last year, during a TED Talk, the two artists talked about how they helped the people of Santa Marta by coloring their world.

Building talent from within, they employed local artists and construction workers. They begin each project by hosting a neighborhood barbecue to get everyone onboard with the colorful changes that they are about to create.

And so, color transforms and uplifts lives.

Read more about Many Colors all this week on BeautifulNow, including Anime Colored Italian Cities and Color is All in Your Mind Now. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Wellness, Impact, Nature/Science, Food, Arts/Design, and Travel, Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS

Image: Courtesy of Germen Crew. Rainbow Village. Palmitas. Pachuca, Mexico.
Image: Courtesy of Germen Crew. Rainbow Village. Palmitas. Pachuca, Mexico.
Image: Courtesy of Germen Crew. Rainbow Village. Palmitas. Pachuca, Mexico.
Image: Courtesy of Germen Crew. Rainbow Village. Palmitas. Pachuca, Mexico..
Image: by Haas&Hahn. Favela Painting. Philly Painting.
Image: Courtesy of Haas&Hahn. Favela Painting. Santa Marta. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Image: Courtesy of Haas&Hahn. Favela Painting. Santa Marta. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Image: Courtesy of Haas&Hahn. Favela Painting. Santa Marta. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Image: Courtesy of Haas&Hahn. Favela Painting. Santa Marta. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Image: Courtesy of Haas&Hahn. Favela Painting. Palmitas. Pachuca, Mexico.
Image: Courtesy of Germen Crew. Rainbow Village. Palmitas. Pachuca, Mexico.