In September 2014 the Thuringian small town of Schmalkalden was ruled by urban art and graffiti. During its main event week, the urban art festival WALLCOME offered films, presentations, exhibitions and live-painting, introducing the many facets of graffiti and urban art. Now, only a year later, WALLCOME’s operators and organisers, including well-known urban artists like AKUT and CASE, look back on their work. A documentary film captures all of the murals that the involved artists created for the festival. Bibliophiles will be pleased about the printed documentation also available. The booklet’s 60 pages entail not only pictures and articles on all of the participating artists and their works, but also many in-depth essays about graffiti. Anyone interested may order the booklet by e-mailing the festival’s organisers (kontakt@wallcome.de). The urban art festival WALLCOME has demonstrated vividly that street art is not limited to urban environments. If supported by the local authorities, administration and businesses, this unique art form can find its place in rural areas just as well. The WALLCOME-artists are: Hendrick ‘ECB’ Beikirch, CASE MA’CLAIM, M-City, Pixel Pancho, Know Hope, Herakut, Andrew Hem, ROA. WALLCOME was supported by: foundation Meininger Kliniken, Thüringer Energie, the town Schmalkalden, the county Schmalkalden-Meiningen, the Thuringian ministry for economy, work and technology, the culture-foundation of Thuringia, the LAG Soziokultur Thüringen, the embassy of the state Israel and the embassy of Flanders.
