SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – Created in 2020 by the inventor of the iconic Chuck Taylor All Star sneakers, active in 27 cities around the world, including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and, more recently, Salvador, the Converse City Forests global project returned back to Christ The Redeemer’s home on June 13th, aiming to spark the discussion around sustainability, street art and fashion.
The project makes use of a photocatalytic paint that helps absorb CO2 – one of the main contributors of greenhouse gas effects – from the air during its drying process. Over its lifetime, the Converse City Forests also highlight the artworks of independent local artists on murals that cast light on relevant and historically silenced subjects, such as afro-futurism and indigenous cultures.
Its latest phase, named #CreateNext, the Converse City Forests promotes discussion about the impact of climate change caused by global warming, and materializes the consequences in a virtual environment before they become reality. They simulated the effects of rising sea levels by projecting animations on the walls of popular historical sites such as the Museu do Amanhã (Museum of Tomorrow) and the Arcos da Lapa (Carioca Aqueduct), as well as watchwords that invite the audience to rethink their lifestyle and to demand immediate actions to preserve what is left of natural resources. This “virtual flood” also occurred on social media: with publications that depict Ocean Blue screens, to help highlight and raise awareness for this issue, showcasing how local actions like painting a wall may help minimize it.
This time, instead of walls, the project took shape via a “forest of poles” located in the Copacabana neighborhood, playing off of the figurative air-purifying qualities. As human activities took place, Rio’s native vegetation was replaced by concrete street poles everywhere that now acquires a whole new meaning through sustainable paintings.
Inspired by endangered Brazilian flora and fauna, the artists were selected through the curatorship of Andre Kajaman, responsible for Morro do Santo Amaro’s previous mural, and Ademar Lucas, founder of the Ademafia Institute, a skateboarding culture collective that incorporates sports and culture as a tool for social and environmental transformation in Rio de Janeiro. “Converse City Forests focuses on local action and young culture and wanted our curatorship to embody that by giving a platform for local independent artists to express their artistic perspectives and point of view about the city and its issues”, Ademar explains.
Nine artists were selected to bring life to this unusual forest, located in Copacabana: Guilherme Memi, Lídia Viber, Ju Angelino, Lolly, Rodrigo Sini, OMEP, Fredy Nascimento, Priscila Rooxo and Mario Band’s.
Lidia Viber assimilates her life experiences as a peripheral black woman into her work, taking her early childhood education, limitations, beliefs, impositions, affections (and lack thereof) as a starting point. Minas Gerais-born, she currently lives in Rio, and has dedicated over 7 years to social formation of less privileged young people in the Belo Horizonte area. Lidia is recognized by the regional Teachers Syndicate as one of the 15 most influential women in this category. For her, “sustainability is an effective way of living and seizing the world, prizing harmony, respect and equality in order to achieve a renewable future”.
Carioca artist Guilheme Memi also turns within himself to find his inspiration, having his own home and the relationship with his humble and peaceful family as a starting point for his artwork by incorporating clean lines and pastel tones to create a nostalgic atmosphere. His pieces also incite reflections regarding connections with the divine and resistance among the urban chaos. “This juxtaposition of stages and places of life sheds light on the incompleteness of being and the transformations of the cycle of existence”, Memi says.
The photocatalytic paint used on these artworks is lime-based and has an environmentally friendly production cycle, from raw materials to the finished product. It is also free from VOCS, carcinogen or toxic substances and incorporates Graphene fibres that optimizes its properties and gives it durability, absorbing up to 120 grams per painted meter.
All Converse City Forests content can be accessed through the official website and social media.
This new phase of Converse City Forests also marks the brazilian launch for the Renew Knit line. As a reinvention of the iconic Chuck Taylor All Stars, the novelty sneakers are made of 85% recycled polyester to compose a breathable, engineered stretch-knit, that ensure premium finishing touches and easy-on comfort, complemented by OrthoLite sockliner. Their new translucent midsole and outsole also incorporate the sustainable story that permeates the Renew line, by using recycled rubber scraps from the footwear manufacturing process on their production.
