Street Art: 'Dire Nous'

This is the first fresco that was completed in 2016 as part of the ‘Dire Nous’ project. Meanwhile (2020), six have been completed. The project follows a fixed notion of multiculturalism in Verviers. Earlier, the city of Verviers launched the ‘Fiers de nos couleurs’ campaign, which became a finalist for the ‘Egaltitude’ prize from the Walloon Region. Today, the concept of 'Dire Nous' is very current, but the objectives remain the same: to initiate a positive discourse about Verviers and its residents and to promote a 'Verviers identity' that everyone can be proud of. That is why the word ‘Nous’ (‘We’) is very important in this project. The fight against discrimination, racism, and xenophobia, and the promotion of social cohesion, good coexistence, and acceptance of others, regardless of their differences, are essential priorities for the city.

For this project, the essay ‘Dire Nous’ by French journalist Edwy Plenel is an intriguing starting point. This work was published in 2016, a year after the attack on Charlie Hebdo, and is a plea for collaboration and against hate. Plenel is a co-founder of Mediapart, an independent online newspaper. He previously published ‘Don Quichotte: Le Droit de savoir’ (2013) and ‘Dire non’ (2014).

The fresco, 35 meters long and more than 4 meters high, mainly consists of poetic images, with on one side ‘Vert et Vieux’ referencing the history of Verviers ('green and old' is the motto of Verviers) and on the other side a quote from ‘Dire Nous’.

Artists: Natasa Konjevic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Polina Stoyanova 'Jo Iyaa' (Bulgaria), Davor Mulalic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Julien Demelenne (Belgium), José Carvalho (Portugal)

Jan Rymenams