If you've been reading our blog lately you'd be forgiven for thinking that Brazil's favelas are brimming with cocaine-fuelled criminals. However, there are some people working to show that it isn't all bad in the slums of Rio. Meet Dre Urhahn and Jeroen Koolhaas, who've started a little project where they help local kids paint huge murals in their neighbourhood. They will soon return to Rio to paint an entire hillside.VICE: Where did you guys get the idea for the favela-painting project?
Dre Urhahn: Jeroen and I were driving through the favela's because we were shooting a documentary about Brazilian hip-hop. We noticed there's a lot of creative energy there and not everything runs foul. We wanted to improve the neighbourhood's image and do something with art as well. Murals seemed like a fine solution. Also, by working with people from the favela, we'd be able to teach some valuable skills to a couple of kids.But how did it work? How did you guys enter the neighbourhood?
We worked together with an NGO which was already active in that hood. Their connections got is inside the favelas. Every morning, we'd wait for the green light to enter. If it was safe, we'd drive over there in a van and paint all day with the two kids that helped us, Vitor and Mauri. In the evening we drank some beers and watched games of soccer.Who were the kids who helped you?
They were 14 and 15 years old and they were picked from a project called Soldados Nunca Mais. Its goal is to keep kids of that critical age from joining drug gangs.So how bad is the situation there?
Well, acts of violence occur every day and everybody has family members or friends who died because of violence. But people get used to it. During a massive police raid in the favela, one of our painter buddies asked me if I wanted some crisps. Thinking he had some on him, I said yes. The boy then stood up and, before I could stop him, ran across the street, barely avoiding being run over by a police tank. A minute later he ran back to me with the crisps. My heart stood still at that time, but for the boy it was no big deal.What's the worst thing you've experienced?
One time we were driving down a road that separates two favelas when the traffic was suddenly stopped by a convoy of thugs in black cars, armed to the teeth. These soldiers were moving to the neighbouring favela, because they expected a massive showdown with the police. They carried an anti-tank weapon with them. I saw this from the corner of my eyes. You try not to look to hard though.Wow. And you're still going back there?
Yeah. It's really not that dangerous if you're careful. So as soon as we gather enough money we'll return to Rio. But we'll do a bigger project next time. The favelas are usually built on hills and we want to paint all of the walls on a really steep hill in order to create a really big piece of art.* The exposition Dre is talking about opens next Friday at Studio Apart, Prinsengracht 715 in Amsterdam. Also check out www.favelapainting.com for more pics.
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Dre Urhahn: Jeroen and I were driving through the favela's because we were shooting a documentary about Brazilian hip-hop. We noticed there's a lot of creative energy there and not everything runs foul. We wanted to improve the neighbourhood's image and do something with art as well. Murals seemed like a fine solution. Also, by working with people from the favela, we'd be able to teach some valuable skills to a couple of kids.But how did it work? How did you guys enter the neighbourhood?
We worked together with an NGO which was already active in that hood. Their connections got is inside the favelas. Every morning, we'd wait for the green light to enter. If it was safe, we'd drive over there in a van and paint all day with the two kids that helped us, Vitor and Mauri. In the evening we drank some beers and watched games of soccer.Who were the kids who helped you?
They were 14 and 15 years old and they were picked from a project called Soldados Nunca Mais. Its goal is to keep kids of that critical age from joining drug gangs.So how bad is the situation there?
Well, acts of violence occur every day and everybody has family members or friends who died because of violence. But people get used to it. During a massive police raid in the favela, one of our painter buddies asked me if I wanted some crisps. Thinking he had some on him, I said yes. The boy then stood up and, before I could stop him, ran across the street, barely avoiding being run over by a police tank. A minute later he ran back to me with the crisps. My heart stood still at that time, but for the boy it was no big deal.What's the worst thing you've experienced?
One time we were driving down a road that separates two favelas when the traffic was suddenly stopped by a convoy of thugs in black cars, armed to the teeth. These soldiers were moving to the neighbouring favela, because they expected a massive showdown with the police. They carried an anti-tank weapon with them. I saw this from the corner of my eyes. You try not to look to hard though.Wow. And you're still going back there?
Yeah. It's really not that dangerous if you're careful. So as soon as we gather enough money we'll return to Rio. But we'll do a bigger project next time. The favelas are usually built on hills and we want to paint all of the walls on a really steep hill in order to create a really big piece of art.* The exposition Dre is talking about opens next Friday at Studio Apart, Prinsengracht 715 in Amsterdam. Also check out www.favelapainting.com for more pics.