👫 Paint the Streets Planning and Meetings

[Garryw (Garry)]

(Everything you need to know is in this editable top post You can add discussion in the posts below)

Summary :

Due to COVID-19, April/May 2020 is PHASE ONE: PRE-PRODUCTION.

We’re in lockdown and the world is changing. With the current public health risks and increased police powers, it’s risky to be out in the streets but when the time is right, we’ll burst forth and Paint the Streets.

Until then, cut yourself a gorgeous set of stencils and roll out some posters for post-lockdown, or bring some colour to your local streets in a small but meaningful (and safe) way.

Here is the first part of a campaign to make our message heard by as many people as possible. We will post, distribute, paint, chalk and try to tell the truth by any means at our disposal.

Let us coordinate our forces and bring attention to the planetary emergency which weighs on all living beings and the need for mass civil disobedience

A little bit of action by a few rebels here and there can achieve a lot!

On another topic

Objectives:

XR poster campaigns are spreading and multiplying throughout the world , reinforced by feedback on Social Networks. Our Paint the Streets project launched with a group putting together this vision:

• We’ll inspire rebels across the country to put out powerful and loving messages throughout the community, providing resources to make it as easy as possible for anyone to join in on Paint the Streets.
• The message is big, bold and colourful .
• The message conveys urgency and encourages people to join the rebellion. We want to continue building the rebellion through the pandemic.
• We build on XR messages that are already strong, like ‘We are all in this together’, ‘Tell the truth and act as though that truth I real’.
• We disrupt the business-as-usual mindset, ‘Another world is possible’.
• We build the ‘story of we’ – that we can work together and provide mutual aid – and undermine the ‘story of I’ – that we are selfish, greedy, competitive and prone to climb over others to get ahead, make more money, buy more stuff.
• We find ways to convey that this is what emergency mode looks like – that we can work together to make big changes fast when we are facing a life and death threat.
• We help promote messages from the broader climate movement, like ‘Build back better’, ‘We need a People’s Recovery Plan’, ‘We don’t want to go back to normal, normal is the problem’.
• Our message is loving and empathic, but edgy. We dare to say what others dare not.
• Our visibility helps creates and maintain a strong sense of XR community , providing love and support for rebels
• Our visibility also maximises our power to influence , helping increase the chance of good outcomes from the pandemic emergency and reducing the chance of bad outcomes (disaster capitalism etc).
• XR is everywhere – chalking, posters, house signs, subvertising and online.
• Our visibility reassures others who are worried about the climate and ecological emergency that XR is not slacking off.
• Our messages are family friendly and some may use humour . We don’t want to offend families with children who are using a bike path or visiting a supermarket.
• OUR MESSAGE GOES VIRAL!

Please post photos of your actions in the discussion thread below.

The tools :

To facilitate the decentralization of these Paint the Street actions, you can find all the useful links in the Paint the Streets Australia Guide.

these Paint the Streets resources will allow you to organize display sessions independently within your local and / or affinity group, by providing you with links to all the resources and information necessary for organization of your action! (Templates, guidelines, designs, glue recipe, necessary equipment, etc.)

The posters & visuals to be used for these actions are available on the google drive, but each group is free to create their own.

We want to send a message that our world is changing, and encourage people to imagine the better world that is possible and to build back better while telling the truth about the climate and ecological emergency.

The action :

Anyone can organize these actions at any level of engagement, and everyone can play a role. All you need is a little equipment and a group of motivated rebels. Link up with your local arts groups and start making things!

To join an action:

This action is decentralized. This post is in wiki-mode (which means you can edit it by clicking on the small pencil at the bottom right).

Next Zoom Meeting: To be determined…

[ManicMax (Max)]

Note the action risk advice from XR UK in the context of Coronavirus:

Rebels!

The current lockdown and the effects of Covid-19 have changed our lives. As human activity has headed indoors some of us find ourselves with more time to make & create. Action Design and Planning Advice is to prioritise looking after ourselves and our communities; take the space to reflect and get organised.

Messaging

Let’s take care to avoid messaging which can be seen as divisive or upsetting, instead focusing on the things that unite us all. We suggest avoiding the use of skulls, death motifs and slogans which are not agreed by your group and aligned with actions messaging. These media guidelines offer more details on messaging during Covid19, and will be updated soon!

Legal advice

XR Arrest Welfare does not advocate arrestable actions for the time being. The increased police powers and health dangers mean that activities previously seen as low risk might not be. Click here to read more.

Now for some fun: As the lockdown continues, here are some suggested activities of things to create, to be deployed when the time is right.

And remember. It’s great when we change our environments with creative actions, however small. It’s even better when these actions combine on a grand scale.

[RosariaRebel (Rosaria Burchielli)]

Thanks @ManicMax for sharing the action risk advice from the UK. It’s important to understand what sorts of messages are advisable during the time of Coronavirus when there is so much suffering in communities. It’s also important to understand the legal risks that we might taking if we do some #PaintTheStreets.

In that context, there are some rebels who are participating in specific activities, such as posting a poster, as per your photos of @jess posters, or chalking the pavement. However, at this time of restricted movement, the reach of such activities is going to be limited, as there are many fewer people on the streets.

Despite these physical contraints, the reach and effectiveness of these activities could be augmented with an accompanying social media campaign, or a #PaintTheCloud strategy. Potentially, we have access to unlimited viewers online, which could align with broader XR Outreach goals. There are well-known pathways to developing social media campaigns, such as goal setting; choosing the platforms; developing, scheduling and releasing content; use of hashtags; etc.

Of course, there are also issues to consider, such as potential for trolling/hackers. But hey, that’s all part of the fun…

[ManicMax (Max)]

I’ve moved this topic to National Discussion as it is applicable all across Australia and we can get interstate collaboration on it.

[ManicMax (Max)]

Invite to Paint the Streets Action Zoom Meeting

5-6pm Thursday

@RosariaRebel and @Jess have filled in the Paint the Streets when2meet that I posted in the previous topic. Let’s lock in 5pm-6pm Thursday for a Paint the Streets meeting. I’ll send invites to others who indicated interest in tonight’s actions support meeting.

Will confirm the zoom link.
I’ll cross-post this over to the Paint the Streets Action topic and follow up in that topic.
Please invite whoever you think is appropriate, and anyone who is interested please attend.
If you’d like to contribute to a meeting agenda please edit this document.

[kate_s]

Hi Max, count me in for the meeting please

[JaneM (Jane Morton)]

Thanks for organising this Max, I’m keen to come.

[Catada (cate adams)]

I would like to attend the zoom meeting. I’m from XR-ACT

[Tee]

Hi Max, would love to join the meeting

[herbree333 (mai)]

Hi Max, this is great! I have been waiting for a national Paint the Streets action! Please count me in! Mai (XRSA)

[ManicMax (Max)]

@kate_s @JaneM @ManicMax @Catada @Tee @herbree333 @jess @Marco-4-Planet-Earth @RosariaRebel @brad333 @Vee @Garryw
… and anyone else reading this, you are all invited to the

Paint the Streets Zoom Kick-Off Zoom Meeting

5pm to 6pm this evening (Thursday)

Zoom url: https://zoom.us/j/5256267273

There will be a visioning session for the group, followed by a brief planning session.
At the next meeting there will be time for more detailed planning.

There will be 30 minutes of extra time available (6 to 6:30) for group members to discuss details of sub-projects in the breakout rooms.

If everyone could fill out this google form so I can collect your contact details that would be awesome.

: See you there!

[ManicMax (Max)]

P.S. Please bring a pen or pencil and some paper.

[ManicMax (Max)]

Paint the Streets Visioning Meeting (16/4/2020) Summary:

The meeting was attended by 15 people from Victoria, ACT and Western Australia.

Action Points

• The shared projects are listed under “Planning” below. Could all people please get in touch with the others working on their shared projects and discuss how you will proceed.
• Everyone is encouraged to make creative and beautiful designs and things that can be part of Paint the Streets in action.
• Anyone is invited to get in touch with the people below to help out on their projects, or get in touch with me to find out how you can get involved - email manicmax@protonmail.com or message @manicmax on the Base or Mattermost.
• I will be touching base periodically with people to check how things are going between now and the meeting but encourage everyone to communicate with each-other to make progress on your projects.
• There are a few people who expressed interest in attending and didn’t attend, and a few who dropped out before the end. I will contact them and ask them what they want to work on and put them in touch with the appropriate people.

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Vision

The visioning exercise was conducted as a 1-2-4 exercise: everyone writing their vision as individuals for 3 minutes, then 5 minutes combining visions in pairs, then 5 minutes of those pairs combining their visions with another pair (groups of 4). The shared visions were then shared with the group.

My notes:

• We’ll inspire rebels across the country to put out powerful and loving messages throughout the community, communicating the urgency and need to rebel to the public, showing power in collective action.
• Providing resources to make it as easy as possible for anyone to join in on Paint the Streets.
• Lots of colour. Recognizable with spray paint and stencils.
• Covering bus-stops and pedestrian crossings.
• Creating a strong sense of community.
• Ensuring the general public that we are still here.
• Link to broader messages about the global situation.
• Promoting the XR principles and values in word and action.
• Beautifying spaces.
• Disrupting mental patterns.
• Sharing and caring.
• Open and child-friendly art and messages.
• Humorous with puns and dad-jokes.
• Going viral in a good way.
• Giving the impressions that XR is everywhere.

These notes are uncompiled but I encourage rebels to add in anything I’ve missed from the vision below or in messages to me. We can then compile them together into a shared vision.

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Planning

We discussed what needs to happen and who will work on what.

• Messaging Resources: Desma, Jane and Tee @Desma @JaneM @Tee
• Online libraries of graphical and stencil resources: Cate, Kate, Garry and Costas. (note: check-in with Ewan about this.) @Catada @kate_s @Garryw @costasmaniatis
• Site to share photos of Paint the Streets actions or inspiration: Rosaria @RosariaRebel
• How-to guides (e.g. how to make posters): Jess, Kate (note: contact XR Yarra and Westside, Zoe and Violet to discuss this). @jess @kate_s @Vee
• Make a strategic rollout plan for rollout across the country (including date): Rosaria, Marco, Ewan @RosariaRebel @Marco-4-Planet-Earth
• Stickers: Brad, Jane @brad333 @JaneM
• Outreach to XR M&M Groups / Social Media Groups: Jane @JaneM
• Work out a framework for decentralization: Jordan to discuss with Jess and Jane. @the-river-jordan @jess @JaneM

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Additional info:

XR UK Paint the Streets Inspiration

Participants may wish to join the XR UK Paint the Streets Telegram group for inspiration. You need to install Telegram on your computer or phone, and then follow this link: https://t.me/joinchat/OMlawUyLvRoOIQU497KR5w

Previous Collections of Work

There are already existing discussions and resources on the Base for Paint the Streets:

• Paint the Streets Action: Where the paint the streets project was created and coalesced. Contains an in-construction post for recruiting and signposting to resources for Paint the Streets. Please have a look.
• XR Messaging and Political Action During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Contains a discussion on messaging, as well as some graphics and visuals.
• Paint the Streets Google Drive: This is a place where people can store resources. It’s a directory in my personal google drive account so only a temporary solution. There’s an arts resources summary already there, lovingly assembled by Jane.

Next Meeting:

The next meeting will be Thursday April 30 at 5pm on Zoom. I will confirm the zoom link.

Contact details:

For privacy reasons I am only sharing the group members Base and Mattermost details here. Please contact them if you want more details.

Name	Mattermost Username	Base Username
Kate	kate_s	@kate_s
Jane	@janem	@JaneM
Max	@manicmax	@ManicMax
Cate	@cate_a but I don’t look at it much, I use signal a lot	@Catada
Tee	@Tee	@Tee
Jess	@jess_h	@jess
Marco	@marco_bellemo_narrm	@Marco-4-Planet-Earth
Rosaria	@rosariarebel	@RosariaRebel
Brad	@brad333.-_	@brad333
Garry	@garryw	@Garryw
Ruth	@ruthgr
Costas	@costas	@costasmaniatis
Desma	Note: I am currently chasing up Desma for her deets by email.
Ewan	@ebu
Jordan	@the-river-jordan	the-river-jordan

With love and rage
Max

[RosariaRebel (Rosaria Burchielli)]

Hi everyone, a poem for us @all

Imagine a street full of colour: posters, stickers, messages
on lampposts, shopfronts, walls and footpaths.

Imagine that rebels are painting the street,
bringing beauty alive,
with messages of love and action for people and planet.

Imagine the people that stop to read
and reflect on the colour and messages,
feeling inspired, feeling uplifted.

Imagine when they walk away with new thoughts,
fresh questions, perhaps with greater courage to make a better world.

Imagine them thinking that maybe, just maybe,
they can be part of something new,
something whole, something alive.

Now imagine one hundred streets, one thousand streets,
one million streets, just like this, blossoming all over the country.

[RosariaRebel (Rosaria Burchielli)]

Happy Earth Day rebels.

[ManicMax (Max)]

The Google Drive link above was going to the wrong place.
I’ve fixed it, it’s now here.

[kate_s]

SUNDAY STENCIL SESSION
Grab your stencil cutting gear and zoom in this Sunday to cut stencils together in preparation to PAINT THE STREETS. No stencilling experience necessary - bring your questions, or if you’re a pro come join us and show us what you’re working on.

Paint the Streets Phase One: Pre-production starts NOW.

Sunday 26 April 3pm AEST on Zoom https://zoom.us/j/5256267273

[ManicMax (Max)]

Hi there Streets-Painters!

It’s been one week since the kick-off meeting and I’m really impressed with how the project is making ripples throughout the movement and how things are coming together.

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Australian rebels!

We’re in lockdown and the world is changing. With the current public health risks and increased police powers, it’s risky to be out in the streets but when the time is right, we’ll burst forth and Paint the Streets. Until then, cut yourself a gorgeous set of stencils and roll out some posters for post-lockdown, or bring some colour to your local streets in a small but meaningful (and safe) way.

April 2020 is PHASE ONE: PRE-PRODUCTION.

---

Paint the Streets Group Vision Reminder

• We’ll inspire rebels across the country to put out powerful and loving messages throughout the community, providing resources to make it as easy as possible for anyone to join in on Paint the Streets.

• The message is big, bold and colourful .

• The message conveys urgency and encourages people to join the rebellion. We want to continue building the rebellion through the pandemic.

• We build on XR messages that are already strong, like ‘We are all in this together’, ‘Tell the truth and act as though that truth I real’.

• We disrupt the business-as-usual mindset, ‘Another world is possible’.

• We build the ‘story of we’ – that we can work together and provide mutual aid – and undermine the ‘story of I’ – that we are selfish, greedy, competitive and prone to climb over others to get ahead, make more money, buy more stuff.

• We find ways to convey that this is what emergency mode looks like – that we can work together to make big changes fast when we are facing a life and death threat.

• We help promote messages from the broader climate movement, like ‘Build back better’, ‘We need a People’s Recovery Plan’, ‘We don’t want to go back to normal, normal is the problem’.

• Our message is loving and empathic, but edgy. We dare to say what others dare not.

• Our visibility helps creates and maintain a strong sense of XR community , providing love and support for rebels

• Our visibility also maximises our power to influence , helping increase the chance of good outcomes from the pandemic emergency and reducing the chance of bad outcomes (disaster capitalism etc).

• XR is everywhere – chalking, posters, house signs, subvertising and online.

• Our visibility reassures others who are worried about the climate and ecological emergency that XR is not slacking off.

• Our messages are family friendly and some may use humour . We don’t want to offend families with children who are using a bike path or visiting a supermarket.

• OUR MESSAGE GOES VIRAL!

---

Group Updates:

Online Libraries / How-to Guides

Kate has been compiling resources in the google drive, containing:

• Paint the Streets Arts Guide - A really awesome document started by Jane, brought almost to completion by Kate.

• Stencils

• How to Guides on:

  • Stencil-making

  • Paste-ups

  • Stencils for “Rewilding” walls and footpaths during lockdown bit by bit.

• Photos of Examples of Paint the Streets

This drive is a location where we can accumulate our resources.

Messaging Resources

Tee has started a document containing basic messaging guidelines and some example messages accentuating the question of what kind of world we want to live in.

Outreach to Media and Messaging Groups

Jane has reached out to XR Vic M&M group, and now there’s a messaging group working on some evidence-based messaging, liaising with messaging folks from Breakthrough, VCAN and environmental NGOs.

Stickers

Mai from South Australia has shared her experience of DIY stickers that are easy to make and infinitely customizable with some card, texta and stuck up with some wheat paste.

Brad has been looking at the option of commercially-produced stickers that we can quickly acquire in large quantities and distribute for maximum accessibility. All we need is to pick a design!

Strategic Rollout Plan / Decentralization Framework

Progress has been made on how we might escalate and decentralize Paint the Streets. The Australian Mass Mobilization group has taken an interest in what we are doing and is interested in boosting it across the country. XR Sydney have shared Paint the Streets pre-production material in their newsletter. We now have interested people from Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, NSW and ACT.

The group working on the strategic roll-out plan have been brainstorming what working groups we might decentralize the Paint the Streets project into.

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Next Meeting: Thursday 30th of April

• 5pm - 6pm Sydney/Melbourne/Brisbane

• 4:30 - 5:30pm Adelaide

• 3pm - 4pm Perth

Please invite anyone who you feel is appropriate. Send them this RSVP link: https://actionnetwork.org/events/paint-the-streets-australia-planning-meeting/

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/5256267273

This meeting will include a status update followed by planning in breakout groups.

I am starting to assemble the meeting agenda here.

If anyone would like to help with the coordination please get in touch: manicmax@protonmail.com.

[ManicMax (Max)]

Post Meeting Update

We just had our second Paint the Streets planning meeting - 50 people from NSW, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, ACT and Western Australia attended.
We ran through the current situation and had some breakout groups to discuss where to go from here.
Over-all I think there was a lot of enthusiasm for the project.
Over the next few days I’ll be processing my post-meeting “to-do’s”. Let me know if you want to help out with any of them:

• Design sticker bulk-bid system
• Create “Keep me in the loops about Paint the Streets” form on action network
• Write follow-up email for Paint the Streets meeting - include details on sunday stencil session
• Design best slogans poll system
• Create Paint the Streets Base category
• Make post about strategic paint the streets action ideas - e.g. Marsh
• Reach out to digital rebellion people - PTS will be great provider of content
• Edit Paint the Streets recording - share somehow

[ManicMax (Max)]

I have created a dedicated “Paint the Streets!” category here on the Base so we can split off the discussion into multiple topics, e.g.

Messaging Guidelines for Paint the Streets

This topic is for discussing and refining the messaging guidelines for Paint the Streets. The current messaging guidelines are contained in the “Messaging” section of the Paint the Streets Australia Guide. These messaging guidelines have been put together by @JaneM, with input from @Tee, @Dr.DML and other rebels. There has been previous discussion on the Base on XR Messaging and Political Action during the Coronavirus Pandemic. This includes a compilation by @janem of several messag…

I was going to start the various topics we will want to discuss, but I’m needing a break today. If anyone wants to, I suggest starting in the Paint the Streets! category for:

• Stickers
• Strategic escalation of Paint the Streets
• Post your brag photos here!
• Sunday stencil sessions