“Luz Nas Vielas”, Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil; A short film.
Intervention! That’s the more academic word choice that people like to used euphemistically to describe putting up a piece of street art sometimes – and one that belies a more holistic perception of Street Art’s overall potential to impact a community. So when Spanish Street Art collective Boa Mistura began talking about their planned “participative Urban Art interventions” in São Paulo this year, the implication was to somehow positively change conditions in the dense favelas using art and the creative spirit.
Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)
Describing art as “a tool for change and inspiration”, the Luz Nas Vielas project took place at the beginning of the year in the neighborhood of Vila Brasilândia, a community struggling economically. Hosted by the Gonçalves family, artists and organizers took time to get to know the neighborhood, study and analyze the narrow and winding streets that comprise a sort of urban net, and took part in a dialogue with residents.
Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)
With the active participation of neighbors, the Boa Mistura collective focused on some concepts that were identified as important to the area and used them as guidance. The words they collectively chose were Beleza, Firmeza, Amor, Doçura, and Orgulho (roughly translated as beauty, strength, love, kindness, and pride). With these universal values in mind, artists made their interventions with the intention of using art as a tool for change and intervention.
See the video for a full account and judge for yourself how successful they were.
Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)
Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)
Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)
Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)
Visit Boa Mistura site to learn more about the work they do. Click here.
Other Articles You May Like from BSA:
Coming up during the third weekend of July will be the second installment of MIAU (The Unfinished Museum of Urban Art) in the tiny town of about 325 people named Fanzara, Spain. Begun by local artists...
Welcome to Images of the Week! Great stuff this week from Portugal, Spain and good old NYC to flip your Aunt Betty's wig. The big news this week of course was that the 5 Points graffiti compound c...
As you know the influence of the Memphis design movement is again fully present as the spirit of the 1980s Milanese architect and designer Ettore Sottass has captured the imagination of many young cre...
Promoting his new exhibition at Cory Helford Gallery this weekend, street artist/muralist/fine artist D*Face paints a new mural in Beverly Hills that will make you think. And wonder. Who is she rememb...
Art Basel in Miami is part of an annual three city fair that includes Hong Kong and it’s name sake Basel in Switzerland. This years fair in Miami hosts 269 galleries and your brain will be fried aft...