“We all want a bouquet of flowers” — interview with the initiators of the Street Art Festival

Monika and Marco Niedermann founded the association “Pro Streetart Switzerland”. It connects street art artists in Switzerland and partly on the international stage. The founding couple, who live and work in Frauenfeld, are the initiators of the Street Art Festival in Frauenfeld.

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The festival is truly an impressive major event. When did you start organizing?

We developed the idea and concept of the festival around 2 years ago. It took a good 6 months, during which we had many discussions with artists, other festival organizers, the city administration, representatives of local gastronomy and business, and thus constantly revised and improved the concept. After that, it took another 6 months for the first financing round, until the commitment to implementation was received just over a year ago. In this context, we would also like to thank the city administration and all involved offices and persons who made this festival possible.

What was the biggest difficulty you had to deal with?

Project management requirements are immense. With over 60 artists and so many individual projects, the detailed work is extensive. No one is the same, nothing should be forgotten, every object has different requirements, dependencies and participants. Even though they sometimes appear similar, they are still very individual and must be planned and managed as individual sub-projects. For example, property owners, property managers, residents, facility managers, building authority, historic preservation, office of culture, the municipal workshop, the office of security, artists, artist support, façade cleaning, lifting platform supplier and material and paint supplier may be involved in the implementation of a mural. They must all deliver material or other materials at the right time and carry out the planned work. That's already cost us a sleepless night (laughs).

The participants were selected from a huge number of applications. Who sat with you on the team that curated the exhibition?

The curation was implemented in a team of 4, consisting of Swiss street art artists ELF and Taina together with us. The core of the curation was the process and the diverse art concept with a wide variety of styles that gave us a common framework. The process usually took place in such a way that, in conversation with the property owners, we first set out a rough framework of styles that were suitable for them. We then suggested 3-4 suitable artists from whom the property owners could choose. We presented the selection of artists to the City Council and the designs of the works of art to the Office of Culture.

What are your personal highlights?

We love the diversity that extends across all works of art and installations. Some are very large, almost photorealistic, others look like an oil painting, others abstract, cartoonish or illustrative, funny, thoughtful, calm, loud. And we particularly like the installations, which you can simply overlook if you don't specifically search for them or discover them by chance with astonishment and joy.

Anyone who wanted to make their walls available was allowed to get in touch. Which news surprised you the most?

We were most surprised — and delighted — by the commitment from the Social Insurance Center of the Canton of Thurgau, SVZ-TG (which we had requested ourselves). The same applies to the choice of artist Slim Safont for this building, especially as he sometimes paints socio-critical pictures in terms of content. We were delighted that the management of SVZ-TG placed their trust in him.

Are all works of art removed after three months, or do some remain?

All murals on walls, facades and in fountains will remain in place even after September 30, 2023. The installations and works of art at the Street Art Jam in Lindenpark are different. These will be dismantled again at the end of September/beginning of October.

How did you organize accommodation for artists, some of whom came to Frauenfeld from far away?

We have left it to the artists themselves to arrange their accommodation. There are artists who like to stay in hotels and others who live with friends, in motorhomes or on campgrounds. This allows everyone to spend the night according to their preferences. We will also provide the hostel in Rüeggerholz free of charge from June 1 to 4.

In some cases, there was severe criticism in the city. How do you deal with when people simply don't like works?

We are pleased that the works are there to discuss. Some things I like, some I don't. This affects a particular core of our society. Do we want a society in which people agree on a common intersection that no longer disturbs anyone — gray and uniform, like our facades? Or do we want a society that is colorful and diverse, like a bouquet of flowers? I think we all want the bouquet. Diversity in society, however, requires that you accept others and others, even if you don't like it. It is therefore perfectly okay if something is not liked and that is also said. That's why it doesn't have to be removed or made gray. Instead, you can simply enjoy another piece of art or ignore it. This creates diversity on our facades and in our hearts.

There was also criticism of the financing. Which area of this festival had the most costs?

The art projects incur the most costs. A total of over 70 works of art will be on display. Big and small. Artists' fees, paints, auxiliary materials, preparation of facades, lifts and food. We have made sure that local businesses are involved and benefit directly from it.

Which areas also caused high costs?

The organization and marketing. We are not talking about direct costs here, because the vast majority of more than 3,000 hours of work was done free of charge.

The opening is now imminent. What are you most looking forward to?

Here's to the beautiful weather and the variety of art that Frauenfeld now offers.

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The interview was conducted on 31.05.2023 in the Frauenfelder Nachrichten published.