17. Partnerships
for the goals

'On Our Way'

‘There are many ways to move forward, but only one way to stand still’

Denmark's largest mural located on Balticagade

Project 17Walls works to make the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals visible in the cityscape of Aarhus - specifically as 17 murals around the city. The first mural was created on the waterfront in Balticagade, and it is inspired by goal no. 17 'Partnerships for the Goals'. The work is the result of an great collaboration between
17 Walls, Aarhus Omstiller, United Change - Teateret Svalegangen and Aarhus Crossfit.

The artistic interpretation of the Sustainable Development Goal is the Dutch artist duo TelmoMiel. Telmo Pieper and Miel Kreutzmann met at the art academy in Rotterdam in 2007, and since 2012 they have worked together all over the world. With their art, they create contrasts in both motifs and themes, but always with a realistic style as a starting point.

Telmo and Miel painted the work in June 2023 and have named it 'On Our Way' (#17: Partnerships for the Goals). About the painting, Telmo says: "There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still - The mural is our vision of ‘Partnerships for the Goals’. We wanted to focus on the future generation so we portrayed kids who are taking care of birds. Finding something common that fits the city or Aarhus, we picked birds to symbolize and illustrate mother nature in this piece. The kids are all walking in the same direction, towards the future. And are making sure to bring nature with them. The title 'On Our Way' is about the start of this generation walking in the right direction. It's a long road but you have to start somewhere. It also symbolizes the start of the 17 Walls project.”

After the creation of the work, Telmo and Miel went out into the world again - and left Aarhus with a new, beautiful work of art that will remind us of the Sustainable Development Goals and influence us to act on them.

The mural is supported by Aarhus municipality, Flügger, Loxam, RockPanel, Tømrermester Grøn, Revolution, Stockvad and Bannerkompaniet