Ignazio (Italy)
In the past I had already joined Elvis, with an exchange with the Dutch in Gulpen, however, I could not think that the Ambassador meeting in Mons could be such a great experience!
For each country of Elvis there were 4 guys and we did many things together, for example two workshops, about hiphop and graffiti, a Mons tour led by the local ambassadors and an interesting exhibition ‘Mons Superstar’. I actually enjoyed most a conference that we had about the history of graffiti, conducted by an artist who told us many details about them and about the most important artists in the world. But it was not finished as , after getting information about the activity, we had to draw our own masterpiece! We were in teams of 7 and we did a really great job, making a brain-storming and then exploiting our drawing skills. In our painting we decided to do something for Mons 2015 and so we represented a mouth that could speak many languages, with the idea of this meeting of cultures.
I enjoyed these days so much because I could actually feel this atmosphere of joy, innovation and brotherhood that was between us. We shared ideas together and discussed about them, of course in English.
I strongly hope that I will have the possibility to do this experience again but no matter what will happen I have met new friends.
Valentina (Italy)
One of the most interesting activities we had in Mons was the hip-hop workshop. On Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning we went to a theatre where we met two freestylers. They taught us hip-hop dance steps. Before dancing we did very tiring and stressful exercise like abs crunch and push ups.
We practised for 3 hours for the performance, which was on Wednesday afternoon, when the two groups performed their dancing shows; we also watched our teachers show their true abilities.
It was really hard yet funny; we enjoyed sharing some time with people from other countries and comparing all of the styles.
Camilla (Italy)
On 10th of March, in the afternoon, we took part in a conference in which an expert explained to us the origins of street art, from its beginnings to our days. The next morning we went to a lab where two professionals taught us the best way to use spray cans. After that, they divided us into two groups and they gave us some sheets of papers on which we had to draw our creative ideas.
My group and I chose the theme “Mons Capital of Culture 2015”, so we painted a mouth surrounded by the flags of the nationality of each of us. It was an awesome experience where we were given the oppotunity to prove our qualities and our fantasy. I’m sure that if I could, I would do everything again, since I met lots of fantastic people who helped me to spend my days in Mons in a wonderful way.
Veronica (Italy)
On Thursday 12th March, we visited Mons Superstar.
It was an interactive exhibition where, thanks to tablets, we had the opportunity to experience the history of Mons and of all the intellectuals, men and women, who came from this town and whose ideas and works made a decisive impact on the scientific, artistic and cultural background.
Like in a game which combines knowledge and fun, we walked through an itinerary, where, step by step, we discovered a Montois/e intellectual, learning about his/her biography, his/her works and some curiosities about him/her.
The thing that I preferred was the so called “stars room”, a deeply dark room where both on the floor and the ceiling, shone thousand of stars, which made you feel like flying in space.
I think that the exhibition of Mons Superstar is a must-see for every tourist who wants to see an unconventional museum, to have fun and to learn something at the same time.