Sometimes street art festivals run headlong into battles with local politics or corporate brands that believe murals should only be decorative—certainly not inclusive of certain communities or certain politics. To be clear: all art is political. If you like a mural, chances are it aligns with your worldview. Don’t make the mistake of believing otherwise.

Last year, MIAU Fanzara ran squarely into that truth. In early 2024 the local council introduced a “facades ordinance” demanding prior approval of sketches—an a priori filter on themes and imagery that organizers publicly rejected as censorship. With organizers refusing to comply, the 2024 edition was “paused.” Over the summer, it appears that the dispute widened, drawing criticism from cultural bodies and press coverage that framed the rule as a curb on artistic freedom. In September, the council rescinded the ordinance—but it also withdrew the long-standing €6,000 municipal subsidy, a small but symbolically vital line that had helped the festival function, according to new reports and locals.

This year, the money didn’t return—but the people did. In 2025, neighbors opened their walls, volunteers handled logistics, and artists worked without fees. MIAU’s ninth edition went ahead without public subsidies, sustained by community energy and a shared conviction that public space is for public voices. All of this sounds rather like the vox populi itself — unruly, creative, and unwilling to be managed by decree. The result wasn’t just a program; it was a popular mandate painted on stucco and brick.

What follows is a selection from this year’s walls: pieces that speak in bright, unvarnished tones about memory, ecology, migration, gender, and the everyday. Funding can be cut. A festival can be paused. But when the people choose color over silence, the paint somehow finds a way.

Thank you to photographer Lluis Olive for sharing new shots of MIAU 2025

To read more about the censorship battle at the Fanzara “MIAU Festival”:

1. “Fanzara se queda sin festival de grafiti tras 10 años por la nueva norma municipal del PP” — El País (July 6, 2024). A report on the 2024 cancellation after the facades ordinance imposed prior screening of murals. (El País)
2. “Fin al bloqueo del MIAU de Fanzara nueve meses después: el Ayuntamiento aprueba por unanimidad retirar la Ordenanza municipal de fachadas” — Cadena SER, Radio Castellón (September 7, 2024). On the council’s vote to withdraw the ordinance and the simultaneous end of municipal funding. (Cadena SER)
3. “El festival de grafitis de Fanzara sobrevive al intento de censura previa con la solidaridad de vecinos y artistas” — El País (July 5, 2025). Coverage of the 2025 edition returning without subsidies, powered by residents and volunteers. (El País)

(Additional context: El País summarized the ordinance’s withdrawal and loss of the €6,000 grant on Sept. 7, 2024; local outlets like Castellón Plaza and NMPNU documented the 2025 edition proceeding “a pecho descubierto,” without public funds. (El País))

We wrote about Bifido’s contribution to MIAU 2025 back in July. Click HERE to read the article.