What

“Hello Mr Police Officer”
European Capital of Culture 2024 project, Tartu Estonia.

 

Where

‘The Print Room gallery, 252A Union Street, Aberdeen

 

When

June 7-17, 2023

 

Stencibility, founded in 2010, is an international festival from Tartu, Estonia that grew out of the local street artist community. The goal of the festival is to spread the idea of independent street art and emphasise the importance of creative freedom along with responsibility. Stencibility mimics the way street artists work ‘in the wild’: the festival has wall donors who have given the permission to use their walls without requiring any sketches in advance. The artists arrive at Tartu, choose their favourite spots and start painting without any further coordination.

 

Tartu is Estonia’s second largest city and European Capital of Culture 2024. It’s position as key to street art culture in the Baltics is in large part thanks to Stencibility, a street art festival held here for more than a decade.

 

In 2022 Stencibility produced an exhibition in Berlin called ‘Hello Mister Police Officer’. The exhibition told a story about small town Robin Hoods who were breaking the law in order to bring art to the streets and make the environment more meaningful and personal. It was about the attitude of bringing the desired change yourself instead of waiting for someone else to do it for you.The ‘Hello Mister Police Officer’ exhibition will be organised again, this time in Aberdeen in the context of the annual Nuart festival.

 

The participating artists are:

KAIRO, Stina Leek, GUTFACE, and Edward von Lõngus.

 

The exhibition is curated by Kadri Lind and Sirla.

 

‘Hello Mister Police Officer’ is part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.