On assignment from nonprofit/social practitioners Stadsmissionen, two rooms and three walls were painted as part of a week-long art camp engaging youth in Tensta.

Stadsmissionen wanted their youth to be involved in the creative process of producing art work for their walls, to increase their sense of ownership and pride in their own space, and reduce vandalization. They also wanted to break with the male-dominated culture at the center, by inviting the girls to “claim their space” visually.

The murals were preceded with workshops and conversations exploring thoughts and symbolism of collective identities connected to the area, religion, and gender. The art work that this encounter inspired and resulted in, was in one room thought-provoking statements by Muhammad and Jesus, connected to morals and personal development. In the second room vibrant male and female KOKO characters, “meeting each other” through occupying opposite walls in the room, united in their rising out of perceived and real restrictions.

Read the publication The Path to Conflictual Harmony for more info about the pedagogical process.