Stuttgart is home to a historic and lively graffiti scene that has been helping to shape public space with colourful images since the late 1980s. A special highlight in 2020 was the Secret Walls Gallery in Stuttgart's main railway station, which temporarily supplemented the Walls/Walls exhibitions in the Kunstmuseum and StadtPalais with a third location. For weeks, visitors could watch a large number of artists spraying graffiti and view the finished works in the station concourse, which had been converted into a gallery. Oversized murals, which are permanently integrated into the cityscape, were unfortunately quite rare in Stuttgart compared to other large cities.
In other German cities, numerous examples show that the large-scale facades are positively received by the citizens and visitors of the respective cities. The prime example of a long-term mural project can be found in our neighbouring city of Mannheim. Under the name "Stadt Wand Kunst" (City Wall Art), national and international artists have been regularly creating large-format murals there since 2013. In the meantime, more than 30 murals have been realised there as part of the project.
Five murals will be created in Stuttgart in the inaugural year 2022. The PFFFestival was conceived as a long-term project from the very beginning. In an annually recurring cycle, a total of 20+ large-scale facades will be designed by 2025. The murals will be scattered in all parts of the city, resulting in numerous interactions between the artists and the local people.
In addition to the murals, there will be an annually recurring group exhibition in the project space of the KVWH as a recap of the festival in cooperation with the Wagenhalle Art Association. In addition to canvases and sculptures by the mural artists, the exhibition will be supplemented by works by other artists.
In addition, the "PFFFestival Journal" will be published annually as an accompanying print publication on the painted walls, the artists, the murals and the exhibition.
The city of Stuttgart wants to place free, modern and contemporary artistic positions in the public space. The artists are to be given as much free rein as possible - because exceptional artistic works can only be created without guidelines. The only guidelines are: No sexism, no racism and no glorification of violence. The artworks must be preserved up to and including 2027. From 2028 onwards, the works can be neutralised. The financing of the neutralisation lies with the owners. A longer lifespan of the works is desired.
By 2025, a total of more than 20 large-scale façades are to be designed in Stuttgart. A façade that is suitable for the PFF Festival should fulfil several requirements.
We are looking for high-traffic spaces that are highly visible and ideally centrally located. They should be portrait format, windowless and at least 100 square metres in size. However, other spaces can also be interesting for some artists (landscape format/ few windows) as long as the space has a large format.
Studio Vierkant proposes an artist to the owners of the space on the basis of a portfolio of previous works. If the artist does not agree, there will be an alternative proposal. As all artists have their own process, we cannot say exactly when there will be a concrete design for the space and how detailed it will be. However, there will be a rough draft for the owners' attention in the run-up to the painting. If there are any open issues regarding the design, Studio Vierkant will mediate between the artists and the owners.
The PFFFestival is subsidised by the City of Stuttgart. The main part of the financing is thus borne by the subsidies. This makes it possible for owners to contribute only a flat percentage to the artistic design of their building. The exact form of financing must be worked out individually, taking into account the specific area. The owners receive the rights to use the photo and video documentation. The corresponding information and images will be provided by Studio Vierkant.
For further information on the provision of a façade, please contact us by e-mail at info@pfffestival.de or by telephone on +49 (0)176 5653 5885.
Every year, the stylistic diversity of mural art in the city is expanded. Therefore, artists who enrich the PFFFestival with their individual style by another facet and fit into the overall curation are particularly interesting. We already have an idea of which artists fit into the concept. However, artists are also welcome to contact us on their own initiative. Send your portfolio to info@pfffestival.de
In addition to numerous press articles (analogue and digital) and television reports, the journal produced especially for the PFF Festival or in the social media.
The PFFFestival offers various opportunities for companies to participate. A distinction is made between project partners and sponsors. Companies that provide materials (e.g. spray cans, facade paints, lifting platforms, printed matter) are listed as sponsors.
The logo of the sponsors will be placed on all promotional print products, such as banners, flyers and posters, as well as on the festival website and in the journal. They receive the rights to use the professional photos and video documentation for social media and the homepage. The logos of the project partners appear prominently in the credits of the PFF festival films. The videos will be published on various accounts on YouTube and Instagram published.
Project partners are publicly communicated to the press as such.
For further information regarding sponsorship or partnership, please contact us by e-mail at info@pfffestival.de or by telephone on +49 (0)176 5653 5885.
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