Continuing on from our recent interview with Eelus, the curator of Wide Open Walls, today we feature an interview with the brains behind the whole project (and magus of Makasutu and Ballabu amongst other things), Lawrence Williams. We spoke to Lawrence before the event about the not-inconsiderable task of assembling 8 street artists of such renown in The Gambia and hwat he envisaged for the project. That they produced such a brilliant collection of installations is testament both to the artist’s tenacity and to Lawrence’s drive. We find out here the trials and tribulations and the hopes for next year’s project – which is already halfway to fruition!

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Lucy McLauchlan at work. Image by {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/eelus/5123518962/in/pool-1581914@N22/}Eelus{/link}

TGB: So from this distance, how did you feel the whole project went?

Lawrence: On the whole I think it was a great success. The village of Kubuneh has been changed in such a massive way, and to see the reaction of the villagers, from the Elders down to the children was fantastic. The whole village turned out on the final day to show their support, and there were speeches from the elders, dancing and drumming and a general air of excitement about what had happened to their village. Everyone was so proud of what had been achieved there, and also the fact that their sleepy back water village was on the map finally, not just in The Gambia, but around the world people know the name of Kubuneh. It was a really special end to the project.

TGB: Do you think you and the artists achieved everything you set out to achieve? Would you do anything different next time?

Lawrence: A lot of amazing work went up in a fairly short space of time, but the heat was a constant factor that the whole team was battling against. It would have been nice to have got greater coverage in the village, but it was just not possible in the conditions that we had. We had a lot of villagers coming up to us asking to have their compounds painted. Bushdwellers are going to try to get back to Kubuneh every couple of weeks to keep painting, and I know Lucy and Matt are looking to come back early next year to continue the job that they started.

I learnt a lot this year, not just about the conditions and time of year to run the project, but also about what the artists needed to get the job done, and also what was expected back at base. Unfortunately James my business partner had a nasty bout of malaria 2 days into the project, which left me trying to run the lodge, make sure the artists were taken care of, trying to get paint on the walls as half of Bushdwellers and making sure James took his medication and saw the Dr. twice a day. There were a couple of people on the team who failed to take this into account and as a result I got more pressure than was needed, but you live and learn. Next year I will make sure I don’t leave myself vulnerable in any way. It was the first year, so you expect problems. Year two will be bigger and better and nothing will be left to chance! On the whole though everyone involved really got into the project and gave 100% to the village, which was the whole point of the project.

The kids of Kubuneh admire Xenz's birds. Image by {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/eelus/5122913583/in/pool-1581914@N22/}Eelus{/link}

TGB: How did the people in the villages respond to the presence of the artists? Did they get much involved with the creation of the pieces?

Lawrence: From the moment we arrived in Kubuneh, we were greeted by the Village Development Committee, who assigned people from the village to help each of the artists out while we were there. We were all made to feel so welcome in the village that it actually went way beyond my expectations of what to expect. I must admit that I was expecting some resistance, but we encountered zero.

Xenz got the kids painting before he had even done a piece himself, and Lucy made friends with a family and young girl that was amazing to see. The excitement from the kids at the workshops was amazing. Eelus and Xenz went to a school in Makumbaya village and spent the day showing kids how to stencil and free hand graffiti, and Lucy, Matt and Njogu went to the school in Kubuneh. Lucy got the kids painting self portraits on the wall of the school. It looks fantastic!!!

TGB: What about practically – in terms of the paint and the environment etc: will the installations fade considerably over time? How do you feel about that?

Lawrence: In the African sun the paint will fade over time, but that is the case with anything. We are going to keep running the project and eventually we will return to each village to repaint, when they are starting to not look so good. Sabotaz use all natural ingredients in their paint, and we are keeping all the empty paint canisters which we plan to recycle in the future, and maybe even use to make a lodge out of! Also the amount of paint that went on to some of the compounds, will definitely help to protect the mud walls. Some of the compounds will not outlast the paint on them. Bushdwellers painted a wall in Kubuneh 2 years ago, and when we returned the wall had already fallen down! It is sad to see the decay, but hopefully money will be generated through this project, that will go back into the village as a whole, which will help to increase the living standards of all the people that live there, including the houses that they live in. There are quite a few buckets of paint left from the Sabotaz donation, and it was the wish of all the artists that we donate the paint to the village, so that they can add some protection to their houses.

Fire nymph by Eelus; background by Broken Crow Mike. Image by {link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/eelus/5123518962/in/pool-1581914@N22/}Eelus{/link}

TGB: What of the project’s legacy, both in terms of what it may have done for the villages and the people involved, and for The Gambia in general? Will it be something visitors to Makasutu can get to see easily?

Lawrence: Hopefully everyone involved in the project will have gained some knowledge and inspiration from their time in Africa, and will continue to spread the word of The Gambia and also Wide Open Walls where ever they may be in the world. I am excited to see how this experience will influence the artists work to come in the future. Logan Hicks produces work based on his previous travel experience, and then takes those pieces to the next destination that he goes to paint in. Really looking forward to see the results of that.

As for the village, we now need to start raising money so the villagers can see that there is a benefit other than just having pretty walls. Eelus has said that he will produce a print of one of his pieces that he did here, and donate a portion of the money to the Ballabu Project. I hope that this will inspire some of the other artists to do similar things. Xenz painted two canvases at a reception that the GTA / Kairaba Hotel threw for the artists. Those will be auctioned off in the future, probably in the uk, as we are hoping to get them shipped back for an exhibition of some sorts at the Eden Project. We are also looking at getting post cards printed, and T shirts made to sell to the visitors that come to Kubuneh. Makasutu are about to start linking Kubuneh in to their day excursion, where an amount of money will be given to the Ballabu Project for every tourist that goes to the village.

I think The legacy for The Gambia is going to be incredible. Our small nation is becoming known for street art around the world, and hopefully we can start to encourage tourists to come here and watch the artists at work. There are other festivals in Europe that do something similar. We are also looking to bring bands over to play at the same time, and also possibly link it in with a tattoo convention. All on a small scale to start off with but from small seeds big Baobab trees grow!

Year Two is already in the planning stages. It will be in June 2011, when the climate is a lot more friendly to artists. We have a couple of names interested from South Africa. Check out www.writeonafrica.com This is Ricky Lee Gordon’s (street name Freddy Sam) amazing project and he is now on board for 2011, and has suggested some incredible artists already. I am excited to link South Africa with The Gambia, and start to make Wide Open Walls more of an African event in the future. This year we had an amazing group of artists, but it was all UK/USA based. It will be nice to mix it up a bit in the years to come, and see how the different continents can inspire each other!

I would like to thank ALL of the artists that were involved this year, sorry if things did not run as smoothly as they should have but things will be better next time around. I hope that all of you return to The Gambia in future years to take part in WOW again, it was a pleasure to meet you all and to get a chance to work alongside the best in the business. It was inspiring to say the least!

Viva le mud walls!