The artistic vision of all MABELLEarts projects grows from the belief that art making and sharing is an essential part of everyday life. We believe that the act of making beautiful a shared space, object or event is essential to the role of the artist and the promise of urban renewal. This has always been the role of art – to enliven communities, spark conversations and engender a sense of shared ownership and power in neglected places. MABELLEarts has grown out of a long-standing commitment to be in the community in which we work, sharing everyday life with people living there and working with them to develop solutions to often- complex problems. As we work together to fix what is broken, we uncover opportunities to teach and learn, get to know one another and become friends. We learn to work together to make positive changes in our neighbourhood, we begin to see our own lives, stories, hopes and dreams reflected in our surroundings – often for the first time.