From Martin Luther King to Greta Thunberg, street art brings superheroes of solidarity to the streets of Florence

The Heart Melts Foundation of Florence, a nonprofit that was founded in 2010 and has been carrying out charitable initiatives to provide opportunities for those in need ever since, launches a solidarity campaign every year, and this year it has not failed in its tradition: for the 2019-2020 campaign, however, it wanted to make use of street art to give substance to Martin Luther King’s message, “now is the time,” the words with which the great U.S. activist concluded the Great March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, held in the U.S. capital on August 28, 1963. With his words, Martin Luther King wanted to incite everyone to take action to bring about a more just world, destroying indifference and putting themselves on the line for the common good.

The same message is what the Foundation wants to address this year to those who will pass through the streets of Florence. In fact, the campaign, which bears the title Now is the time, will speak through street art: seven works, depicting as many “superheroes” of solidarity, that is, seven men and women who have changed and are changing the course of history with their commitment, have already made (and in some cases will make) their appearance on the city’s walls, dressed in Superman suits to make their role as humanity’s “superhumans” clear. In the weeks from Dec. 1, 2019 to Jan. 12, 2020, street artist Lediesis (who continues to operate under anonymity) will create the seven works, one per week. The first character is Martin Luther King, who appeared on Monday, December 2, in Via de’ Cerretani; the second is Greta Thunberg, in Piazza delle Belle Arti; and the third is Liliana Segre, in Borgo degli Albizi.

The characters will not only appear in the historic center: in fact, the same figures will be replicated in different parts of the city. The campaign, thanks to the spread on social media, has already gone viral, and in addition, The Heart Melts Foundation is issuing a challenge to citizens and tourists: hunt down the works using the map on the campaign website, http://www.ilcuoresiscioglie.it/ilmomentoeadesso. Those who take a photo and post it on social media with the hashtag #IlMomentoèAdesso will receive a digital copy of the artwork and a limited-edition postcard of the character, which Postini Fiorentini will send to Florence for free. Pictures can be seen on the campaign website as well as on the Foundation’s Facebook page The Heart Melts.

From Martin Luther King to Greta Thunberg, street art brings superheroes of solidarity to the streets of Florence

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