What is Paint The Streets?
Paint the Streets is an ongoing creative campaign, breaking social norms to raise awareness about the climate & ecological emergency. Paint the Streets includes murals, stickering, flyposting, stencilling, chalking, banner drop actions, and subvertising bus stops and billboards.
Get involved with a UK-wide campaign or launch your own local campaign around local climate issues.
Connect with others taking part here:
What are the aims of Paint the Streets?
- Tell the truth about climate and ecological breakdown, the injustice of our toxic systems, and failing government.
- Create an action pathway for new rebels.
- Move hearts and minds, inspire hope!
- Break the media echo chamber by reaching new audiences.
- Have fun!
Why is Paint the Streets great for outreach and mobilisation?
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Paint the Streets actions give rebels a taste of non-violent direct action, helping to build confidence and encouraging affinity groups to form.
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Paint the Streets actions are often relatively quick to carry out, and simple to join in; they are great for rebels who would like to be involved but don’t have lots of spare time.
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It reaches a wider audience to highlight important climate issues and campaigns (and then spreads them even further through sharing images on social media).
Who can take part?
- Anyone in XR! There are creative actions for everyone from flyposting and making stencils to mural painting, creating street sculptures to folding origami offerings. For rebels to take part we ask that you are mindful of our core Principles & Values and Demands as well as strategy guidance.
What can I do?
- Paint The Symbol everywhere!
- Make stencils for posters and painting with Spray-chalk or emulsion paint.
- Sticker up anwhere you can think of.
- Print out window posters or make your own window art.
- Flyposting.
- Brandalism and subvertising: replacing bus stop posters with your own work or repurposing an existing advert to change the message; postering billboards; replacing adverts on train carriages.
- Give posters to friends, shops, community centres etc to put up in their windows as effective outreach.
- Train Talks - stand on public transport and speak the truth to fellow passengers wearing badges and patches. For more information check out the Train Talks Telegram group.
- Banner drops - there are frequent UK-wide banner drop actions, or create your own for a local climate issue.
- Murals - create beautiful art with a climate based message on a wall/building (if you have permission to do so).
- And much more!
To view these guidelines in one rolling Googledoc: Paint The Streets Info Pack.