The Thierry Noir Academy of Art
August 2019
Exhibition 22nd to 25thAugust 2019
at Protein Studios, 31 New Inn Yard, Hackney, London, EC2A 3EY
Thierry Noir, one of the world’s most recognisable street artists, is teaming up with London based children’s charity The Kids Network throughout August to raise awareness and funds for vulnerable children in Hackney through collaborative murals and a fundraising exhibition at Protein Studios.
For the whole of August Noir will paint murals around the street art hotspots of Shoreditch, Dalston and Hackney Wick with assistance from The Kids Network and local Hackney 8-11 year olds. The children will be mentored by Noir and for a month will become real life street artists painting alongside the legendary Berlin artist in the streets of East London. The project will culminate on the 22nd of August with The Thierry Noir Academy of Art Summer Exhibition in collaboration with Protein Studios. This will be in the form of a survey of Noir’s 40 year painting career with over 1,000 original Thierry Noir works of art brought from Berlin by Flight Logistics with proceeds in support of The Kids Network.
Having illegally painted over 5 miles of the Berlin Wall during the Cold War, in the process becoming one of the pioneers of the international street art movement, Noir knows a thing or two about street art. Since the 1980s Noir’s colourful motifs, bold lines and timeless visual language have become a symbol of youth culture globally making him a perfect mentor. The Thierry Noir Academy of Art will inspire a new generation in Hackney by providing new experiences and opportunities, the core mission of The Kids Network.
Hackney is becoming an increasingly hard place for children to grow up in. The colourful street art has heralded gentrification and influx of new wealth to the district which has resulted in rising social inequality and the erosion of previously established communities. The Kids Network exists to supports children at a crucial time in their lives, in the lead up to and often during the transition from primary into secondary school. Through mentoring, The Kids Network brings together people who would not usually cross paths for social change.
Sarah Woodcock, Founder of The Kids Network, says, “the support of Thierry Noir will have a huge impact on the lives of local Hackney children. In the rapidly changing city, children’s voices can often be forgotten. We are massively grateful for an artist like Noir to be giving them this amazing opportunity and helping us expand into Hackney”.
Notes for editors:
Thierry Noir
Thierry Noir was born in 1958 in Lyon, France, and came to Berlin in January 1982. In April 1984, Noir began to paint the Berlin Wall and is credited as being the first artist to do so. Noir’s objective was to perform one real revolutionary act: To paint the Berlin wall, to transform it, to make it ridiculous, and to help destroy it prempting its ultimate fall in 1989. Noir covered the Berlin Wall, more than 3 metres high, with bright, vivid colours, aiming not to embellish the wall but to demystify it. Noir’s iconic, bright and seemingly innocent works painted on this deadly border symbolised a sole act of defiance and a lone voice of freedom.
thierrynoir.com
instagram.com/thierrynoir
The Kids Network
The Kids Network is a community of children and young professionals connecting through fun, friendship and hardship for positive social change. They do this by providing them with a volunteer mentor, a young professional from the local community. Their model focuses on the individual needs of the child, building confidence and resilience and developing the tools to manage feelings for a positive future. London is bursting with young professionals, millennials who want to give back in a meaningful way. We make this possible through mentoring.
thekidsnetwork.org.uk
instagram.com/the_kidsnetwork
Protein
Protein exists to help its community grow – having spent the last ten years building a global community of curious, diverse and creative minds. Through supporting partnership initiatives such as The Thierry Noir Academy of Art, Protein continues to bring like-minds together in a safe and nurturing environment and give back to the local community through open-access to their studio and working space in Shoreditch.
