No Limit 2020 (2)

In my previous post I took you along for a sneak peek from the first day of last weekend's mural festival. I went back again on Saturday - the 3rd day out of 4 - for another visit.

I'll start with showing the progress made on the four walls I also saw on the first day; and then move on to some others that I did not visit on the first occasion. Enjoy!

The wall at the school.
Left: Thursday / Right: Saturday.

Work still in progress, but now clear that it has a musical theme.

Left: Thursday, Right: Saturday
Some kind of fantasy animal

Top left: Thursday
Bottom left and right: Saturday

I have since read that several of the new murals share a theme in paying tribute to mothers and family life. There are a lot of families living in this district.

Left: Thursday / Right: Saturday

Another one with family theme.
(Sort of "my home is my castle", I think?)

Another fantasy creature

A more abstract one

"Calligrafitti"

From the local newspaper I learn that it's all supposed to be "nice words" in this mural, including the names of people who came bringing the artist coffee while he was working on it! I like how the journalist sums it up: "Here is an alphabet I can't read, in a district where many languages are spoken that I don't understand. I must choose to trust both that what has been written here, and what is being said, is kindhearted."

I have not yet been back to see the finished murals (including one or two more that I missed). They'll be there for a good while to enjoy now, though, so no particular hurry.

No Limit 2020 (1)

While most public events have been cancelled this year (you-all-know-why), our fourth (I think?) mural/street art festival in Borås, No Limit 2020 - Artscape Edition, was successfully held as planned this past weekend. And even the weather was in its best mood for it. So I went to have a little sneak peek already on the first day, which was Thursday. This time, the event did not take place in the city centre, but in a residential district within walking distance from there. (And from where I live, as well.)

The photos in this post are all from that first peek. I had no map with me then, and only visited some of the walls that were being painted. On Saturday I went back to see more. I'll save those photos for another post. And of course I also intend to go back to look at the finished murals, later on.

From a bridge over the railway, looking west
towards the residential district Norrby

(View looking north from the bridge)

Mural from a previous street art festival;
paying tribute to the town's textile industry heritage

Passing a pre-school where the children had
made their own contributions to the festival;
displayed on the balcony

 

Mural being painted on a wall
at a secondary school

The artist's car (I presume)

The blue and red ribbons were part of marking the "trail"
(which I wasn't really following that day)

Another artist at work!

The next building

And this one can be seen by cars passing on the main road

On my way back, I took a detour through a park
called "The park of the Senses"
(across the road from that blue wall above)

Sculpture in that park, called "The Whisperer"

I think I have blogged about this sculpture some time in the past (years ago), mentioning that the creature reminds me of Gollum from Lord of the Rings. However, the sculpture predates the films! (The thing he is spitting into is supposed to be an ear, I think.)

Looking back along the street - and the blue gable stands out...

Finishing off with some photos of older houses along the main street here, which always kind of remind me of England rather than being typically Swedish - because of being attached, and yet painted in different colours, and with different kinds of doors. As a whole, this part of town mixes rather varied types of architecture from different eras.

I'll include a bit more info on the participating artists in later posts - when you can also see more of the result of their efforts :)  In this post, I just wanted to take you along to see what I saw... (and as I had no map/brochure then, I had no idea what I was looking at either!)

Door Update

It's been a rather messy and noisy week, with the apartment doors in my building being replaced with new ones. Last Friday I got a message that they'd be coming on Monday; so I spent part of Sunday clearing my hall from anything that might be in the way (like clothes and shoes, and floor mats and pictures on the wall etc). Then followed a few days of constantly Being Prepared (as in the scout motto) - as in up early and prepared for a knock on my door at any moment. On Monday morning, I was told there had been a delay and they would not come to me until Tuesday. In the afternoon, I got another message saying it would be on Wednesday. By then I was thinking to myself that it probably would not  happen until Thursday... But, they did come on Wednesday, and then got started working on both my doorway and that of my neighbours' across the landing at the same time. So for a few hours it was Open House Day on our floor... (See the middle picture.)  And in the midst of that, I had laundry day, so had to sneak out and in and down to the basement a couple of times. (Phew!) All went well in the end though, and at the end of the day, I was safe behind my new door again...

For a short while, I have to admit I almost panicked, though - or at least felt very stupid - because I couldn't figure out how to work the lock!

I have since mastered the How (even if not yet the Why) - but tell me, please: Are these image instructions (below) perfectly clear to you? I suppose if you are used to that type of lock, they might be. But if not...?? (Feel free to give your interpretations in the comments...)

 

The End of an Era

 

For 45 years of of my life (ever since I first moved away from my parents' house to live on my own), I've had my mail, and newspapers, delivered through a slot in my door, and landing with a 'thump' on the doormat. (Or a doormat. I've moved a few times and worn out a few doormats along the way.) 

As of next week, I won't be hearing that sound again. Postboxes have been installed down in the entrance of my building; and next week our apartment doors will be exchanged for new 'safety doors', without any letter slots in them.

(I think we'll be getting some sort of holder for newspapers next to the door. If not, I'll probably switch to digital subscription sooner rather than later. I still do really like the 'paper paper' with my breakfast rather than reading it on the tablet, though... What about you??) 

As it's all part of upgrading safety, I don't want to complain. Just sayin' it may take me a while before I stop missing the familiar excitement of the sound of mail pushed through the letter slot - usually making me get up straight away to check if it includes postcards or letters...

As the mail does not arrive at a fixed time every day, but sometimes before noon and sometimes not until hours later, I now won't know when to go down and check the postbox.  

 

On the whole, I guess the new routine will mean less exercise for the posties, and all the more for me!

(The top image is my own photo of my door - soon to be exchanged. The rest I found online - hopefully not infringing on anyone's copyright.)

The Beauty of Late Summer

 

A flower bed in the old cemetery where I often walk.
Photos from a couple of weeks ago.

Summer is beginning to slowly turn into autumn,
but has not yet given up...

 

City Walk

 "And it was Monday [my previous post] - and then, all of a sudden, it was Friday again..."

These photos are from a walk last Sunday, though. 

Crossing a bridge over the river, and trying to catch a view (as) "from the past"....

... i.e. before this tower block came into the picture (it's been there for several years by now, and as it's the highest building in the city so far, it's kind of hard to ignore)

Walking up a hill where the views have got rather cramped in later years, with a lot of new highrise blocks added. (Older buildings to the left, new ones to the right.)

 

 

We've reached the top of the hill and are walking down on the other side, towards the city. Older (and lower) buildings on this side... And you can see one of the church towers in the background.

 

Some pretty gardens here, too

Rescue helicopter up in the air (there is a helideck at the hospital).

Down below now, closer to the city centre, passing a fairly new multi-storey car park.

Parking for other kinds of vehicles!

Going to visit an "old friend" - the giant Pinocchio statue, created by American artist Jim Dine. It's official name is "Walking to Borås" and it's been here since 2008. I think this project was really the start of all the biannual sculpture and street art festivals we've had since then. It's nine meters high if memory serves me right.

Mural on the building where our local newspaper is being produced.

Borås is an old textile industry town. Nowadays the focus is not so much on production but more on design, fashion, education and developing new technology etc. But we still have quite a few old industrial buildings left (most of them now used for other purposes).

Finishing off with some park views.
(The building in the background is an indoors swimming bath.)

Non-Violence, bronze sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd. It's a replica of (or similar to) one by the same artist placed at the United Nations head quarters in New York.

It's becoming evident that summer is over and autumn is slowly on its way...