Papergirl

Papergirl is a community street art project originating in Berlin in 2006, which is now produced in cities worldwide. In the style of American paperboys, art is collected from the local creative community, exhibited, rolled up, and then distributed by bicycle by volunteers in city centres, to random passers-by. The project was started in response to it being a criminal offense to post art in public places within Berlin. As placarding is an integral part of urban art, local artist Aisha Ronniger conceived an alternative way of sharing art in public spaces, without focusing on any particular target demographic. Hence Papergirl was founded whereby works of art are handed directly to the general public at random, similar to how newspapers were distributed in decades past.

About the project

The project is organised into four components, which is followed by all Papergirl franchises worldwide:

1. A call-out is placed to the local community requesting people (not necessarily artists) to submit work.
2. An exhibition is held in which the work is showcased.
3. The artwork is rolled up and then distributed by bicycle in a group to random individuals in urban areas.
4. A celebration is held to thank everyone involved.

Anyone who wishes to be involved is invited to participate, regardless of age, education, profession, gender, or location. Artworks accepted include drawings, photographs, text, pictures, stickers, posters - basically anything 'creative' that can be rolled and distributed in the Papergirl fashion. Individuals are invited to submit as many contributions as they would like - in some cases art work is reproduced to allow broader distribution than a single original. Submissions are usually accepted through post, email or at a drop-off location. Volunteers are utilised to distribute the artwork.

Worldwide franchises

Papergirl franchises exist worldwide, however they are subject to a set of criteria set-out by the Berlin creators. These requirements include it not being a commercial venture whereby any party benefits financially, and the project must be open to all individuals and not be curated. Some of the Papergirl franchises are as follows:

Barcelona, Spain
Berlin, Germany
Birmingham, England
Brisbane, Australia
Bristol, England
Bucharest, Romania
Cardiff, Wales
Chişinău, Moldova
Glasgow, Scotland
Hamburg, Germany
Istanbul, Turkey
Kelowna, Canada
Lasi, Romania
Leeds, England
Manchester, England
Newcastle, England
New York, USA
San Francisco, USA
Vancouver, Canada