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STORY: VIENNA / CALLE LIBRE STREET ART
TRT: 04:45
SOURCE: UNIS / CTBTO / UNODC
RESTRICTIONS: CREDIT ALL DRONE SHOTS WITH “CTBTO”
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 19 AUGUST 2024, VIENNA, AUSTRIA / RECENT
1. Drone shot, Vienna International Centre (VIC), tower B with finished painting
2. Wide shot, people in front of tower B outside Vienna International Centre
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Ghada Waly, Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna:
“I’m very proud to see the mural finally come to life. This beautiful painting is about peace, the fragility of peace and the important role of women, the important role of inclusive societies, of building peaceful societies.”
4. Drone shot, Vienna International Centre, flying towards fountain and conference centre at C-building
5. Med shot, fountain at the plaza
6. Various med shots, C-building of the VIC
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Ghada Waly, Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna:
“It’s very important to have this mural here on the walls of the VIC, especially as it is the 45th anniversary of the VIC in Vienna and as we come closer to the Summit of the Future it’s nice to have this mural where we are explaining the role of women, the importance of peace and the importance of working towards building peaceful societies.”
9. Various wide shots, artist Fintan Magee and his assistant Sophi Odling meeting Ghada Waly, Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna
11. Wide shot, Fintan Magee touching the wall of tower B
12. Various shots, Fintan Magee and Sophi Odling going up with crane operator to paint the wall of tower B
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Fintan Magee, Artist:
“It's an incredible wall. It's a huge location. It's high profile in the center of the city. And it's for the United Nations, you know, it's a real honor to be able to work for an organization like that in this kind of scale and context, on a piece of architecture that's historically important as well.”
14. Various med shots, Fintan Magee painting
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Fintan Magee, Artist:
“I think it was important to paint behind glass. The reason I chose this motif is because, not only do I blur the figure, but it kind of acts as an allegory for fragility, peace, you know, the idea of glass is fragile or something that can be broken and then combined with the dove in front of the glass, the dove is an important symbol for peace, it's a symbol for the United Nations and so I wanted the piece to be a reminder of the fragility of peace and the important work that's done inside the building.”
16. Wide shot, timelapse of the progress of the painting
17. Various wide shots, Fintan Magee painting tower B of the Vienna International Centre
18. Drone shot, crane at tower B of the Vienna International Centre
19. Various wide shots, Fintan Magee and assistant Axel Schindler painting tower B of the Vienna International Centre
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Ghada Waly, Director-General, United Nations Office at Vienna:
“Having this mural, I hope, will be a source of inspiration to work towards peace, inclusive societies and the Sustainable Development Goals. I hope it inspires everyone who sees it.”
21. Drone shot, finished painting, flying towards the VIC from Kaiserwasser
22. Med shot, tower B
23. Wide shot, VIC seen from Kaiserwasser
24. Drone shot, flying towards plaza of the VIC
25. Drone shot, panning towards the finished painting on tower B of the VIC
The United Nations headquarters in Vienna reaches its 45th anniversary on Friday 23 August. To mark the occasion, a giant mural has been painted on the wall of the Vienna International Centre to support Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Summit of the Future.
The monumental art project was in cooperation with the Vienna-based Calle Libre Street Art Festival, the UN family in Vienna and other partners and with the support of the Host Country, Austria, and the City of Vienna.
It took nearly three weeks for the renowned Australian artist, Fintan Magee, to transform one of the towers of the UN building into a work of art that covers almost 1,000 square metres. He was assisted by Sophi Odling from Australia and later Axel Schindler from Austria.
Speaking at the inauguration on Friday 28 June, Magee said when he created the artwork, he wanted a straightforward message of peace: “So I just painted this simple motif of the woman with the dove. I wanted to paint the woman behind glass and for me this is like an allegory for fragility or the difficult road that we have keeping peace and maintaining peace. I wanted it to be a hopeful message of peace but also a reminder that there is always work to be done in that regard and that is the work done in this building, so that’s the idea behind the work.”
The mural painting, “Woman with Dove - Shaping Our Common Future”, is a symbol for the fulfilment of the 17 SDGs and in particular Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions. The street art project is part of events to mark the 45th anniversary of the Vienna International Centre, which opened on 23 August 1979.
The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, Ghada Waly, said of the artwork: “It’s very important to have this mural here on the walls of the VIC, especially as it is the 45th anniversary of the VIC in Vienna and as we come closer to the Summit of the Future it’s nice to have this mural where we are explaining the role of women, the importance of peace and the importance of working towards building peaceful societies.”
The gigantic street art aims to highlight the work of the UN organizations based in the city in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and to inspire people to help implement the Goals.
The art is also in support of September’s UN Summit of the Future which aims to reinvigorate the multilateral system. The Vienna International Centre is home to more than a dozen UN organizations, offices and agencies. Their work encompasses a range of topics including nuclear safety and security, drug control, transnational organized crime and terrorism, sustainable development, international trade law and the peaceful uses of outer space.
The painting is in collaboration with the Calle Libre Street Art Festival, with the backing of the main Vienna-based UN organizations, the UN Office at Vienna/UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNOV/UNODC), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), as well as the City of Vienna, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labour and Economy.
The project was supported by the 22nd municipal district as well as the Australian embassy in Vienna. A “cherry picker” crane was supplied pro-bono by Austrian company and Global Compact Network Austria participant, Palfinger, to transport the artist and his assistant to the top of the tower. Other private sector support to the Calle Libre Street Art Festival came from Murexin, Superbude Hotel, Warda Network, Obsidian Holding, Strabag Kunstforum and others. The Global Compact Network Austria is also behind the project.
A tactile information board courtesy of Zero Project and partners has also been installed to make the artwork accessible for people with disabilities.
The 50-metre high and 20-metre-wide tower is close to the main entrance of the VIC and the street art will be seen by tens of thousands of people every day.
Around 50,000 visit the VIC every year and can see the mural on a guided tour. Visitors Service also offers a dedicated art tour which will include a stop at the Calle Libre artwork.
The public are encouraged to take photos and videos of the painting and share them on social media using the hashtags #UNOCityStreetArt #UNVienna and #callelibre.
