At the end of last year, five young amateur artists launched an initiative to decorate the old street water pumps in Zagreb and thus give them a new lease of life. As their project progressed, and one pump after another got a facelift, the media began to follow the project while the citizens could not hide their delight. In a rather short period of time a relatively modest initiative has turned some 40 uniquely decorated water pumps into instant attractions. Passers-by find themselves drawn to these original features; they gather around them and have their photos taken next to them, and obviously, they also take the opportunity to refresh themselves with the water from the pumps. The unassuming initiative, which has been dubbed Pimp My Pump, has become much more than a sheer attempt to create street art. The pumps have become real tourist attractions, arguably making Zagreb the only city in the world with such original street features. Even more importantly, a majority of the revamped pumps, as well as those still waiting for their turn, are public sources of drinking water. In many respects that water is much healthier than all the water in bottles that citizens tend to carry around. Therefore, if you are in Zagreb, find a street water pump and feel free to fill up your empty bottle with the water from it.
The young artists mostly draw their inspiration from the pumps’ surroundings. Their decorations tell stories about the neighbourhoods in which the pumps are located and stories about historical characters. Some also offer a commentary to a topical subject. Other sources of inspiration are Zagreb’s sports heroes (skier Janica Kostelić and footballer Eduardo da Silva) and famous fictional characters (the most popular cartoon character Balthazar); some of the pumps have been given their own sports grounds (a chess board, a tennis court)… Not surprisingly, the initiative has already led to a spin-off: the authors of photos depicting Zagreb's decorated street water pumps have participated in several photo competitions. Moreover, the citizens are looking forward to new surprises. A total of some 150 pumps are located around the city. With time they will all be given a new artistic lease of life.
Some of the pumps are located in the very city centre. As for the others, they may be off the beaten path but they can be easily found with the help of a smart phone. A list featuring all the decorated pumps and their locations may be downloaded from Android Market and Store as a free geolocation voodoo application using the following barcodes.
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