All posts tagged: Isaac Cordal

North Sea’s Muse: Utsira Island’s Fusion of Contemporary Artistry and Heritage

North Sea’s Muse: Utsira Island’s Fusion of Contemporary Artistry and Heritage

Situated in the North Sea, 18 kilometers west of Haugesund, Utsira epitomizes Norway’s maritime heritage in Rogaland County. As the county’s smallest municipality, this 6.15-square-kilometer island with around 200 residents is deeply rooted in Norge traditions. Its historic dual-tower lighthouse has guided North Sea vessels since 1844.

Utsira not only boasts natural beauty and wildlife, including migratory birds and local livestock, but also showcases innovative sustainable energy projects, like their wind and hydrogen initiative from the early 2000s. Its archaeological treasures, from stone rings to burial mounds, echo the island’s deep heritage. Embracing both the old and new, Utsira has attracted international street artists here since 2014, enhancing its cultural tapestry. To experience this unique blend, take a ferry from Haugesund.

Nils Westergard. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Icy & Sot, Issac Cordal, Pichiavo and Borondo have all created artworks here, so have SNIK, Hama Woods, and JPS, and several others during the last decade. The names are only as important as their proximity to a fan, as it turns out. As you cycle along the narrow winding roads or trek up the rocky hills, you might overlook it at first, but there’s likely a piece of street art nearby – just beyond where those two rams are butting heads.

Visiting the Utsira island for the first time in August of that year, public art curators and organizers Tor Ståle Moen and Borghild Marie were very curious about how the islanders would react to their idea. Would they welcome or resist the idea of bringing street artists to paint old barn doors or enormous seaside boulders in this pristine and remote home to 211 people?

Nils Westergard. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“The island was 100% “clean” from any tags, graffiti, and street art,” says Tor. “They didn’t even have the names of their streets at that time.”

The magnetic charm of the island’s pristine beauty, deep-rooted history, and innovative spirit drew the duo back, time and again, to see more of the terrain and classic Norwegian architecture, and close-knit community. Over the span of a decade, people here warmly welcomed a handpicked ensemble of street artists, each personally cherished or inspiring to the pair. First-timers on the island are now treated to a subtly integrated treasure hunt of site-specific artworks tucked away and openly displayed in equal measure. The island’s lively art program has quietly become a shining example of how tight-knit communities can joyfully embrace the language of street art, all while celebrating and safeguarding their rich cultural heritage.

ATM. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“The white-painted picturesque old-fashioned Norwegian wood houses were perfectly blended with the green and grey colored landscape,” Tor says of the environment where he and Borghild first inquired about their idea. “The answers came quickly as many people were interested in observing one of the artists while they were painting—and they positively commented on their art.”

“The oldest person living on the island, Tobias, was 87. He approached us and said, ‘There are too many grey walls in this world. Would you like to come over to my house and paint my wall in front?’ Of course, we reacted positively, and the artist ‘3 Fountains’ painted two kissing kids in front of his house. Tobias both smiled and had tears in his eyes when he saw the piece for the first time,” says Tor.

ATM. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

“‘Now, doesn’t the wall look much better?’” Tobias told Tor. “I used to work as a sailor back in the day, and I have seen street art in New York, Rio De Janeiro, and other cities back in the 70’s and 80’s. Finally, I can now see street art on my island. Thank you very much.”

We spoke with Tor Ståle Moen and Borghild Marie as they prepared to celebrate ten years of curating street art on the island of Utsira and asked them about their experiences there.

3 Fountains. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA: What were the origins of bringing street art to Utsira? How was the idea formed and presented?
TSM & BM: Several of Tor’s street art friends wanted to come to Stavanger to paint, but Stavanger already had a festival curated by NuArt. Borghild Marie knew Utsira, with its unique environment and engaged population with Tove Grimsby as a passionate doer. So she wrote Tove, and asked if this tiny Island without street names wanted some street art. The answer was loud and clear: ‘Yes, please!’

3 Fountains. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA: Does the project rely on public funding? Is there funding coming from private donors?
TSM & BM: The project has been supported by both public and private funding, but primarily with public funding, the Utsira municipality and the region of Rogaland as major donors. But private donors have helped with labor, material, food, housing, and support with travel costs, etcetera. The whole island has contributed, and we have as well.

BSA: Who is the project manager or director? Is she/he/they based in Utsira?
TSM & BM: It’s more of a committee work, and by now, all involved are locals. We contribute as advisors when needed.

PichiAvo and 3 Fountains. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA: Can you speak about the residents and their involvement in the process? Did they have strong opinions in favor or against bringing street art to their island?
TSM & BM: The islanders have greeted the art and artists, with great warmth. They have baked cakes, cooked dinners, taken the artists fishing, and invited them to their homes. Many of the artists have engaged in teaching art techniques at the school, and Icy and Sot conducted a beach cleanup together with the islanders.

PichiAvo portrait of Åasa Helgesen, Norway, AND Utsira’s first female mayor. Ms. Helgesen was elected in 1926 as a City Council of eleven women and one man was established. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA: Can you describe the collaboration between Martyn Reed, who ran the Nuart Festival based in Stavanger, and this Utsira project?  How has the project evolved over time?
TSM & BM: Nuart was invited to promote the events mutually to strengthen the whole region’s identity as a street art location, but their contribution is very limited.

PichiAvo portrait of Åasa Helgesen was taken from a different angle. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA: What’s the process of extending an invitation to an artist to participate? It is such a remote location – how does the artist live there, and who do they interact with?
TSM & BM: They have been housed in various ways, but most have stayed in the “artist in residence” space at the lighthouse.

BSA: Can you speak more about how residents have welcomed the artists and offered assistance or volunteered to help?
TSM & BM: As answered above, the response has been overwhelmingly engaged and heartfelt. Many have contributed with gear (ladders, etc.), food, friendship, nature experiences, babysitting, etc. They express gratitude because the art enhances the everyday life on the Island, bringing new impulses and people to the Island.

PichiAvo. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

BSA: The project is now in its 10th anniversary and recently, the British duo Snik painted on the island. What are the plans for the future?
TSM & BM: We don’t know, but we have our eyes on big names who suit the Island well.

BSA: On a personal level, what does the project mean for you two, and how involved are you presently in bringing more artists to Utsira?
TSM & BM: We have a deeply felt love and passion for Utsira and will support the project with our network and advice. But it is equally important to us that the islanders own the event. It’s their environment, and the art should live and breathe their voice and pace.

PichiAvo. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Snik. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Snik. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Snik. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Snik. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Snik. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ella & Pitr. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
La Staa. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
La Staa. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
La Staa. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hama Woods. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hama Woods. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Icy & Sot. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Icy & Sot. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Icy & Sot. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Icy & Sot. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
The timber church in Utsira was built in 1785. Utisira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Isaac Cordal. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Isaac Cordal. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Isaac Cordal. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JPS. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JPS. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JPS. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JPS. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
STIK. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
STIK. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
STIK. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
STIK. Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
An artist in residency primes the side of one to the still-standing sea pilot stations on the island. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Utsira Fyr. Utsira Island, Norway.
Utsira Island, Norway. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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Osona Artimur Festival in Spain. First Edition / Part I

Osona Artimur Festival in Spain. First Edition / Part I

A 5-village mural program will be surely eclectic, to say the least. The first Osona Artimur Festival produced 19 of them, murals that is, and each speaks to the sensitivities of the modern era, an awareness of local history, and the unarticulated sensibilities of a multi-headed program here in the countryside just to the north of Barcelona. Curated by members and organizers at a pioneering urban art center called B-Murals, the quality of work and diversity of styles represent a fair survey of the international scene at the moment, with a decidedly local sabor.

Ana Barriga. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)

With B-Murals bringing the community and educational roots to the project, the complex execution during this autumn was coordinated with the Department of Tourism of Osona and the Catalan company Transit Projects. Working closely with the five villages, they served as intermediaries between locals and the international artists who came to paint there from France, Germany, Argentina, Ireland, Italy, Chile,… and closer to home.

Ana Barriga. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)

The towns of Prats de Lluçanès, Manlleu, Sant Julià de Vilatorta, Sant Bartomeu del Grau, and Alpens welcomed the artists. All participants were supported by an extensive production team, including assistants, runners, photographers, and film archivists. Here is our first of two postings from this part of Spain that features rivers, mountains, and beautiful landscapes.

Ana Barriga. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)

Enjoy Osona Artimur Festival.

Our special thanks to Fer Acala for sharing his images and observations about the event with us and BSA readers.

Invited artists: Zoer, Ana Barriga, Satone, Nano4814, Luogo Comune, Isaac Cordal, Rosh,  Alberto Montes,  Jan Vallverdú, Marta Lapeña, Eloise Gillow
Artists selected by open call: Twee Muizen, Sergi Bastida, Wedo Goas
Artists working on participatory processes: Daniel Muñoz, Chu Doma, Alessia Innocenti, Mateu Targa, Zosen

Alessia Innocenti. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Alessia Innocenti. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Alessia Innocenti. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Alberto Montes. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Alberto Montes. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Chu Doma. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Chu Doma. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Chu Doma. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Daniel Muñoz. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Daniel Muñoz. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Daniel Muñoz. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Isaac Cordal. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Isaac Cordal. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Isaac Cordal. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Eloise Gillow. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Eloise Gillow. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Jan Vallverdú. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Jan Vallverdú. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Jan Vallverdú. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Marta Lapeña. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Marta Lapeña. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Marta Lapeña. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Luogo Comune. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Luogo Comune. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
Luogo Comune. Osona Artimur Festival. B-Murals. Spain. (photo © Fer Alcala)
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Isaac Cordal Into the Woods with Fire Extinguishers in Northern Spain

Isaac Cordal Into the Woods with Fire Extinguishers in Northern Spain

A stunning outdoor public art installation today from Isaac Cordal that borders conceptual art, land art, and activist art. It depends on how deep into these woods you go.

Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)

We surmise that you are a true fan of art in the streets. If so, you’ll also fondly recognize the image of the fire extinguisher as the most badass uncontrollable way to spray your tag across a prominent city wall– the equivalent of a scream and a hot emotional mess all on display. Here Mr. Cordal hopes the symbolic image packs the same emotional/intellectual punch.

Mounted in his hometown, Pontevedra, in Galicia, which lies on the northern coast of Spain, the artist tells us that many areas of the earth are turning to monocultures, making us all much more fragile and susceptible to disaster. With greater diversity of plant life and the associated ecosystem, one species may suffer while the others can bridge the gap. The ironic term for this forest monoculture that Cordal addresses is called a “green desert.”

Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)

And that is what is happening in Pontevedra, “which has had a factory called Ence in operation since 1957, dedicated to making cellulose pulp from eucalyptus trees,” he tells us. “This invasive species has practically wiped out the native forests. Since then, a large part of northern Spain and Portugal has become a monoculture of this pyrophyte species, which alarmingly aggravates forest fires and destroys biodiversity, as well as drying up aquifers. The landscape has become a green desert, where nothing grows; it looks like a synthetic forest.”

“We must recover our lost paradise that still remains resilient.”

Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)

Walking through these woods, you may generally find the blue, green, and brown hues soothing and welcoming – the canopy overhead shielding you from the sun, and the crunch of the leaves and branches beneath you is enlivening. This fresh interplay makes one feel adventurous, on the lamb with a sense of possibility. When you see Cordal’s fire extinguishers hung with an alarming sameness, you may also question the uniformity of tree species. Something is precisely amiss.

Without becoming too complicated, the strength we are losing is in the variety – and Cordal says the current solutions offered are too superficial and insincere.

Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)

“The project arises from the lack of a forestry policy in accordance with the current situation,” he says. This idea inspired his installation to instantly help people connect the idea. “The idea of decorative or marketing solutions is so fashionable today in the era of greenwashing. Our actions remain a kind of make-up to make us feel less guilty about the future.”



Cordal explains that the term ‘green desert’ arose in the 1980s when Brazil’s cellulose industry left the people with vast tracks of the same trees. He says this approach only fuels a hellish future, and we’re not doing much to alleviate the situation.

“Current forestry policy is more decorative than effective,” Cordal says. “We need a forestry policy that controls the monoculture of eucalyptus in Galicia, and northern Spain, that protects native biodiversity, that puts an end to this green, lifeless desert that has colonized our territory.”

Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)
Isaac Cordal. “Green Desert”. Pontevedra, Galicia. (photos by Isaac Cordal, Cuco and Lois Cid)
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Fanzara Art Festival 2022

Fanzara Art Festival 2022

The storied, busy, festive Spanish city of Valencia lies about an hour south of Fanzara, and the difference between the two could not be more pronounced. One of many across the country, this small town has been aging, shrinking in population, a shadow of its former charming self. Since the Fanzara Miau Mural Festival began about a decade ago, that direction has been slowly reversing, with an infusion of murals all over town.

The tourist trafficked has become notable, and that youthful demographic once again wanders through the winding streets, greeting old timers and taking photos of the murals and of course, posing for selfies in front of them.

Ceciro. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

The artworks are quite varied, with street artists now often formally trained studio professionals and those working in the advertising and commercial art industries. Thankfully the feeling remains free spirited, and many artists appear to await inspiration for their subject matter until arriving, preferring to be inspired by their new environment and creating something that initiates dialogue with their surroundings.

Bault. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

From the classically figurative to naïve, illustrative to photorealistic, the natural world to daily life, the common thread is thoughtful and considered work that is far from the hype of other street art festivals – and safely far from commercial gloss.

Today we have new photos from the 2022 edition by frequent contributor Lluis Olive Bulbena.

Bault. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Bault. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Axel Void. Fanzara Art Festival 2020. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Slim Safont. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Pedro Kouba and Cesar Goce. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Pedro Kouba and Cesar Goce. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Pedro Kouba and Cesar Goce. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Sokram paints an artist walking the tightrope. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Isaac Cordal. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Isaac Cordal. Fanzara Art Festival 2020. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Manuel Martin. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
EL NIÑO DE LAS PINTURAS. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
EL NIÑO DE LAS PINTURAS. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Zesar and Meri. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Zesar and Meri. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Huariu. Fanzara Art Festival 2022. Fanzara, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
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Isaac Cordal, Stupefaction of Modern Existence, and “24/7”  in Bilbao

Isaac Cordal, Stupefaction of Modern Existence, and “24/7” in Bilbao

Now on view until January 28th at SC Gallery in Bilbao, street artist/contemporary artist Isaac Cordal’s hapless little men are being subsumed into the machinery of our meaningless times, positioned in perpetual fog, adrift and submissive, unable to resist the march to a digital life that is in never-ending production mode. While the electronic prison walls of everyday existence appear to be closing in, perhaps Cordal’s dire scenarios are cautionary, not definitive, for our future.

Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)

His second solo exhibition here, he calls this collection “24/7”. As work life has implicated itself into every aspect of so-called “leisure” time, these color-drained scenarios present themselves as a series of connections without connectedness, trapped in their own cycles. In his essay that accompanies the exhibition, philosopher, curator and cultural critic Alberto Ruiz de Samaniego describes the insipid trappings of modern life as a disabling process of dumbing-down the everyman.

Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)

“His mode of existence is none other than stupefaction, a term that comes from the same root as stupidity. It is that of the individual who sees everything, but can no longer do anything.”

As ever, Cordal’s lead-heavy scenarios suggest that this is not a benign truth, but a profoundly catastrophic one. Using animals, machines, and dismally austere architectural forms that recall institutional incarceration, his balding concrete avatars are engaged with allegories that are inescapable. Yet de Samaniego suggests that the artist doesn’t want you to succumb, even as it appears there is no escape.

“We have to proceed from the astonished helplessness with which, like the man on the balcony of Isaac Cordal’s premises, we often contemplate and witness daily life,” he says, suggesting there is something more transformative at its root. “Each scene is a moment of crisis and describes the imminence of a tragedy, a catastrophe, a denouement – a catharsis, perhaps.”

Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)
Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)
Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)
Isaac Cordal. “24/7” SC Gallery. Bilbao, Spain. (image courtesy of the gallery)

Isaac Cordal’s “24/7” at SC Gallery in Bilbao will be open from December 17 to January 28 2022. Click HERE for more details.

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Extending the Family at Fazunchar Festival in Portugal with Isaac Cordal

Extending the Family at Fazunchar Festival in Portugal with Isaac Cordal

Idealized figures, they are not.

It’s a curious pleasure to meet some of the extended members of the Isaac Cordal businessmen after all these years, isn’t it? For a decade or so you’ve been seeing his balding men in rumpled suits installed on ledges and window sills – contemplating their ennui, reviewing their rotten deeds, realizing they had wasted their lives playing the stock market only to feel empty. Now it’s time to meet the family?

Isaac Cordal. Fazunchar Festival. Figueiro dos Vinhos, Portugal. August 2021. (photo © Isaac Cordal)

Now the Spanish street artist expands the circle as he attends the Fazunchar Festival in Figueiro dos Vinhos in Portugal, and you are seeing his new sculptures perched in new spaces throughout the village. “I have had the opportunity to add new neighbours,” he says.

Where is the inspiration for these new neighbors coming from? “I’ve been reflecting on the passage of time, emigration, the abandonment of the countryside, and the climate crisis among other issues,” he tells us.

He would also like to give a shout-out to the good people of Mistakermaker, who organized the festival.

Isaac Cordal. Fazunchar Festival. Figueiro dos Vinhos, Portugal. August 2021. (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Isaac Cordal. Fazunchar Festival. Figueiro dos Vinhos, Portugal. August 2021. (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Isaac Cordal. Fazunchar Festival. Figueiro dos Vinhos, Portugal. August 2021. (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Isaac Cordal. Fazunchar Festival. Figueiro dos Vinhos, Portugal. August 2021. (photo © Isaac Cordal)
Isaac Cordal. Fazunchar Festival. Figueiro dos Vinhos, Portugal. August 2021. (photo © Isaac Cordal)
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BSA Film Friday: 01.22.21

BSA Film Friday: 01.22.21

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening participants at Festival Asalto 2020:
1. Isaac Cordal
2. Elbi Elem
3. Akacorleone
4. Lida Cao
5. Diego Vicente
6. Karto
7. Marta Lapena
8. Sawu
9. Slim Safont

BSA Special Feature: Festival Asalto 2020

In Barrio San Jose (Zaragoza) the Festival Asalto mounted its 2020 edition in spite of, and perhaps because of, the very strange time that we are living in. Once considered an expression of the counterculture, illegal street art has evolved in some ways to spawn legal mural festivals that actually reinforce a sense of normalcy. The organizers and participants of Festival Asalto had to overcome logistical obstacles as well as the fears of many to mount the outdoor exhibition this year, and we salute them for their fortitude and successes.

Isaac Cordal at Festival Asalto 2020

Elbi Elem at Festival Asalto 2020

Akacorleone at Festival Asalto 2020

Lida Cao at Festival Asalto 2020

Diego Vicente at Festival Asalto 2020

Karto at Festival Asalto 2020

Marta Lapena at Festival Asalto 2020

Sawu at Festival Asalto 2020

Slim Safont at Festival Asalto 2020

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Festival “Asalto” at 15

Festival “Asalto” at 15

A pioneer in public art festivals, Asalto celebrates its 15th year here in San José, in Zaragoza (Spain) with a lineup of very thoughtful artists. The intensity of 2020 and the toll it is taking on the countries of the world – is somehow reflected in the gentle dispositions of this year’s collection, who add their works to the 300 artists and works of art here. Organizers say the connection to the community is predicated on the organizing structure of the festival, which doesn’t decree what is good, but Asalto creates “a dialogue with neighbors who see art as something intimate and in the works they can see scenes in which they can be identified.”

This years Asalto 2020 line-up includes artists Akacorleone, Diego Vicente, Elbi Elem, Isaac Cordal, Karto Gimeno, Lida Cao, Marta Lapeña, Slim Safont, Anna Taratiel, Sawu Studio and Aheneah.

Below are a few that we thought you would enjoy, along with brief descriptions of the artists directly from the Asalto organizers.

Lidia Cao. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)

Lidia Cao: “The artist Lidia Cao gives us in a large mural those hugs that we have been missing in recent months. With great sensitivity to capture moments in all her works, Lidia Cao makes this gift to the neighborhood. As the artist says ‘A hug. An act as simple as it is difficult. We have seen how a world, in the blink of an eye, has become something completely distant.’ This is a hug of joy or comfort but always comforting and that has already become a symbol for all the people who see it every day in its wake.”

Elbi Elem. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)

Elbi Elem: “The artist Elbi Elem has explored every corner of the area of Zaragoza where the Festival Asalto has been held to continue on her path of artistic research. Elbi Elem has used the possibilities of water and reflection to create installations that lead us to recognize the duality between balance and movement or the constant change in which we find ourselves.”

Isaac Cordal. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)

Issaac Cordal: “The small figures that Isaac Cordal has placed in different parts of the San José neighborhood are part of his series, called Cement Eclipses. With this game he invites us to look for the works – he wants to draw attention to our behavior as a mass and the effects of the evolution of society. Isaac Cordal presents this intervention to us as a game and as a surprise, each encounter with one of the figures makes us wonder and question who we are.”

Isaac Cordal. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)

Karto Gimeno: “Karto Gimeno makes his first foray into public art at the Asalto Festival and he did so by transferring his characteristic style to the large format: photography and almost scenographic installation.

With that style with which he captures the urban environment that surrounds us, Karto Gimeno wanted to bring to the people some characteristic buildings that surround the neighbourhood where Festival Asalto took place this year: abandoned and invaded by vegetation and humidity houses. Three large photographs located on the facades of the buildings become three new windows from which to look and recognize the past of an area that has forgotten its agricultural past.”

Karto Gimeno. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Karto Gimeno. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
Marta Lapeña. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)

Marta Lapeña: “In a large mural of five panels, the artist Marta Lapeña remembers the everyday life of the San José neighborhood of Zaragoza with some of the elements that represent its past: glass, ceramics, wheat and barley or the thread with which industrial tarpaulins were manufactured. The 50s and 60s saw the birth of a neighborhood that was born around the industry and now the artist wants to take us to that simplicity of workers’ homes with a figurative mural in which color takes us from one scene to another.”

Marta Lapeña. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)

Slim Safont: “After meeting the neighbors of the building in which he was going to make his mural and walking the streets of the neighborhood capturing his life, the artist Slim Safont noticed a scene as everyday as it was loaded with a message; a slogan on a young girl’s shirt and a nursery in the background remind us of the future that lies ahead. And he does it with that technical skill that characterizes his work: almost photographic paintings that acquire texture as we get closer.”

Slim Safont. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)

Akacorleone: “Akacorleone’s mural ‘ILUSIÓN’ is a set of vibrant colors halfway between abstraction and figuration. With this work, the Portuguese artist wants to defend the life and flourishing of the human being after experiencing difficult situations. As he said “my idea was to create something that simbolized the calm after the storm, something beautiful that can emerge from dark times”. Painted with the spray technique, the refined shapes that we appreciate in this work also lead us to a oneiric world.”

Akacorleone. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)

Sawu Studio: With the challenge of transform into a new space a degraded -although widely used- square, the Sawu Studio team has built an ephemeral installation that claims play and meeting spaces for people. A large circle symbolizes that circle or safety space in which dialogue arises and which also protects the little ones.

The effect of light on wood turns four colors into an infinite palette that changes with the sun and the movement of those around it. With this installation, Sawu has managed to point out the need to humanize public spaces and respect them and has responded to the more than 300 surveys with which the neighborhood expressed its wishes towards the “nameless square”, the place where locate this facility.

Sawu Studio. Festival Asalto. Zaragoza, Spain. Edition 15th/2020 (photo courtesy of Festival Asalto)
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disCONNECT In Total : All the Artists Who Created This London Show During Lockdown

disCONNECT In Total : All the Artists Who Created This London Show During Lockdown

Back in June, BSA published the first article on disCONNECT, a project created in London during the lockdown due to Covid-19. A collaboration between Schoeni Projects and HK Walls, disCONNECT involves the take over of a period building by 10 artists from different countries.

Alex Fakso. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Ian Cox)

Disconnect “reflects on the creative and physical constraints of the current global crisis, exploring psychological and political reactions to the crisis, as well as the role of technology as conduit between the two.”

We’re pleased to bring you our final article on the project with images of the works of all 10 participating artists. For our previous coverage click HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.

Isaac Cordal. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Ian Cox)
Isaac Cordal. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Ian Cox)
Mr Cenz. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Ian Cox)
Mr Cenz. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Nick Smith)
Icy & Sot. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Nick Smith)
Icy & Sot. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Nick Smith)
Herakut. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Ian Cox)
Herakut. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Ian Cox)
David Bray. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Nick Smith)
David Bray. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Nick Smith)
Aida Wilde. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Ian Cox)
Aida Wilde. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Ian Cox)
Adam Neate. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Nick Smith)
Adam Neate. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Nick Smith)
Vhils. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Ian Cox)
Vhils. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Nick Smith)
Alex Fakso. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Nick Smith)
Zoer. disCONNECT Schoeni Projects / HK Walls. London. (photo © Ian Cox)

Tickets

Free Tickets for disCONNECT are now available.
24 July – 24 August, Wednesdays – Sundays.
Hourly slots starting from 11am to 5pm, with a maximum of 8 people per slot.
Please book below, we can’t wait to share this journey with you!

Click here to book your tickets.

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BSA Film Friday: 07.31.20

BSA Film Friday: 07.31.20

Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening :
1. disCONNECT, a “Lock-Down” Artists Takeover

BSA Special Feature: disCONNECT, a “Lock-Down” Artists Takeover

London / 24 July – 23 August 2020

Today a series of videos from the artists takeover of this London home, a testament to the fortitude of organizers and artists who didn’t accept “Lock-down” for an answer. Yes, everyone practiced social distancing, and no, a large public opening event could not take place. But this may serve as one welcome new model for art in the time of Corona.

The video series is expertly produced by Fifth Wall TV and a small consortium of commercial/cultural partners including HK Walls and Schoeni Projects. Details at the end of the video parade.

Mr Cenz / disCONNECT / Fifth Wall TV

David Bray / disCONNECT / Fifth Wall TV

Aida Wilde / disCONNECT / Fifth Wall TV

Alex Fakso / disCONNECT / Fifth Wall TV

Isaac Cordal / disCONNECT / Fifth Wall TV

Herakut / disCONNECT / Fifth Wall TV

Zoer / disCONNECT / Fifth Wall TV

To find more about disCONNECT A “Lock-Down” Artists Takeover / London / 24 July – 23 August 2020 click HERE

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays From BSA!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays From BSA!!!

Merry Christmas from BSA!!

On Christmas we send our very best wishes to you and your family and loved ones.

Happy Hanukkah to you as well! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Solstice!
No matter your religion or non-religion is we wish you the best.

Isaac Cordal. Installation at the BedStuy Art Residency. Brooklyn, NY. December, 2019. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

These days of big holidays can be happy times and can also be difficult times for people. We chose to take stock of the year and thank you for your support and love while looking forward to the new year and decade.

We’re also thankful that we could bring Spanish Street Artist Isaac Cordal to the Bedstuy Artist Residency in Brooklyn this month. We think his very unconventional Christmas display pictured here is entertaining and brilliant as he is; a witty critique of modern society, religious traditions, and more.

Sending love to all BSA readers!

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