We invite you to participate in the project of our resident Diren, who is spending the month of January with us. His project Walk in the Rain is an interactive street art project developed within the Trenčín 2026 – European Capital of Culture residency programme. The project invites local voices to collaboratively intervene in the city through rain-activated street art, walking, and conversation.
Who is the invitation intended for:
We are looking for approximately 6-8 participants.
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artists
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mural and graffiti artists
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climate activists
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researchers
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educators
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students
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collectives and community initiatives
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based in Trenčín, or actively working with the city and its public space.
About the project
Walk in the Rain is an interactive street art project that creates a shared space for artists, climate researchers, and climate activists to work together in the public realm.
The project uses environmentally friendly, rain-activated stencils to bring climate-related messages into the streets, inviting reflection on how the climate crisis becomes visible, felt, and discussed in everyday urban life.
These texts remain invisible in dry weather and appear only when it rains, turning rainfall into a moment of visibility and reflection.
What does participation involve?
Selected participants will be invited to:
• take part in a short in-person meeting
• collaboratively develop short slogans or statements related to climate, the city, and public space
• participate in a 2–3 minute recorded interview about their work, research, or activist experience
The interviews will:
• become part of the audio-walk in the city
• be published as part of a dedicated podcast accompanying the project.
Participants will also contribute to shaping a walking route through Trenčín. During rainy days, group walks will take place along this route, allowing the public to encounter the works and engage in collective discussion.
Timeline and dates:
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Interviews. meetings and recordings will be scheduled flexibly, according to your availability.
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Please apply before 24th Jan.
How to participate?
If you are interested in taking part, contact: diren@direndemir.art
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to discover, explore and lend a hand to this exceptional project with Diren.
About the artist:
Diren Demir (Istanbul, 1997) is a Berlin-based interdisciplinary artist and independent curator. Their work explores transformative solutions to the challenges posed by patriarchal and authoritarian regimes. Their installations and performances often engage with themes of revelation and the body-power relationship as a site of conflict. Diren focuses on transformational activism, participatory practices, and developing new models of resistance in their artworks. They incorporate queer themes, using their own body to challenge stereotypical gender roles and surface the silenced memories of place and the city by referencing LGBTIQ+ history in their articles, seminars, and workshops. In 2019, their compilation titled “A Night in June: A Biographical Analysis of the Stonewall Revolution” was published. In August 2022, their poetry and illustration book “Hail to the Fallen” was released. They have curated more than 30 guerrilla exhibitions on streets and in rural areas, prioritizing the accessibility of art, as well as in venues like Akbank Art Center, Fixotek Berlin, Gazhane Museum… Diren’s works and projects have been exhibited in various countries, including Estonia, Turkey, Serbia, the Netherlands, Germany, India, USA, China and the UK.
