As we catch up on projects that took place over the summer we felt it was a good time to share Wide Open Walls Gambia 2014 with you. There is a short text below by Remi Rough a participating artist this year.

GF

“I have to admit to being a little worried about my initial invitation to paint in Gambia… But when the invite came through I thought what the hell, let’s do it! I had no idea what to expect at the point other than a couple of my close friends who had already been telling me how wonderful it was. They were right. It’s an incredible place full of life, color and beautiful people. Children who bring you mangoes whilst you paint, adults who help if they can and chat to you as they do their daily chores and a team of artists whose sole purpose is ti beautify a struggling village. In this case, Galloya Village.

Wide Open Walls has been running for 5 years so far and some incredible artists have been out there to leave their marks on the walls of some of the villages. I was the first new artist to be invited for quite some time as the project has a group of artists it knows and trusts and I guess having gone now I understand why as not just anyone would be able to fit into it or even to get it. It’s not easy painting in 45 degree heat with practically no amenities at your disposal whatsoever. In fact it’s bloody hard as one of the artists this year suffered a serious bout of heat stroke. Not that this is in any way a test of mettle. It’s about bringing awareness to the villages and the people who live in them and their fight to survive against malaria and other diseases and also their quality of life. They build their homes from huge bricks made of the clay found in the jungle, sadly when the rainy season comes once a year their house invariably collapse. So a simple thing like cementing the surround of someones home makes that home last for years, not just a summer.

The beauty of the Wide Open Walls lies in the people that make it happen… The people who help with logistics and organization, the amazing villagers who open their hearts and homes to the artists and the artists who brave the incredible heat, baboons with lacking social skills and a 20 foot python that lives in the jungle and eats an occasional goat or two.” Remi Rough

Wide Open Walls 2014

Artists –
Best Ever, Njogu, Remi Rough, Rimon, Roa, She One, Sickboy

All photos by Remi Rough & Ian Cox © 2014.