Open-air art gallery comes to life at COLORFUL COMMUNITIES project

Before the walls of Sumaré, São Paulo, Brazil, were transformed into art as part of the “As Cores e a Cidade” (Colors and the City) art festival, they were a blank canvas prepared by PPG employee volunteers as part of a 10-year celebration COLORFUL COMMUNITIES^® project.

Right outside of the PPG Sumaré facility’s main entrance, about 100 employees and family members applied a base coat of paint to a 400-meter (~1,300 ft) wall, using 400 liters of PPG paints and coatings. Their work set the stage for the festival, which later turned the area into an open-air art gallery.

The proximity to PPG’s facility added meaning behind this 10-year celebration flagship Colorful Communities project. For Raquel Klemz, communications and social responsibility manager, PPG’s longstanding connection with the community enabled the passion behind the volunteers’ efforts.

“For years we have dreamed of transforming this road into a space for art and culture, because it represents so much to PPG and to the surrounding community,” said Klemz. “More than adding color to the walls, we wanted to celebrate local history, bring the community closer together and leave a positive legacy for Sumaré.”

Held on September 27 and 28, 2025 and sponsored by PPG, the festival brought together 30 urban artists, live music, food and free activities for residents. Local producer Patrícia Santos noted that the community was eager to participate and collaborated actively during the project’s infrastructure phase.

Since 2015, the Colorful Communities program has completed around 600 projects in 50 countries, impacting more than 8.2 million people. In Sumaré, celebrating 10 years of the global program’s impact came to life proving once again that a splash of color can bring people together and leave a lasting mark.

Learn more about 10 years of the Colorful Communities program.