All posts tagged: Magda Cwik

3rd Edition of Kronos Inclusive and Looking to the Future of Art, Graffiti, Creativity, the Street in Barcelona

3rd Edition of Kronos Inclusive and Looking to the Future of Art, Graffiti, Creativity, the Street in Barcelona

We continue to see a dissolving of previous tensions between the worlds of graffiti writing and mural artists and other disciplines of art-making as we travel around cities around the world. Artificial divisions have persisted, and indeed the lived experience of graff and street art and mural making are distinctly different in certain respects, but the piece is the piece, regardless of style, and each creator can be an ambassador with a message.

Our own philosophy is if art is going to have the transformative power that we believe it can have on all of our societies, families, and institutions we need to dissolve artificial divisions in the creative community as well – as they serve little constructive purpose. As art in the street usually reflects society at large, we have our own challenges with classism, sexism, and racism as well.

So it’s great to see the continuance of brotherhood and sisterhood at small neighborhood festivals like the 3rd Edition of the Kronos Art and Arts Santa Mònica here in an area of Barcelona during the third week of October. One core philosophy at this festival this year was to re-consider the future of art and its role by actively consulting kids in defining what art is, and what it could be.

Juanjo Suarce. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

“Be aware of the role of ARTIST and his work in our PRESENT, without judging, without imposing criteria, with the sole conviction that what we are creating is the prologue of the FUTURE in the ART”

During their ‘live painting’ events at 3 Chimney Plaza (Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies) it was the men and women, graffiti writers and street artists – all working side by side. Part of a much larger group of events that included 70+ artists, photography, sculpture, performance, music, video art, cinema, talks, and workshops, these painters just did their thing and had a good time.

“Becoming cultural activists, taking the reins of how to express ourselves and about what to express ourselves through art; and by doing so becoming key pieces for the freedom of creation, we become aware as spectators, as thinkers, as artists, as a species. KRONOS ART BCN 2020 is a wager to the freedom of society through the freedom of the artist; free to catch everything that interests and surrounds them, without fear of being judged and without judging the protagonists of their artwork. Free to BE in all the aspects that make us human, thus turning the PRESENT into the prologue of a FUTURE world full of diversity.”

Our thanks to photographer Lluis Olive Bulbena for capturing a few of the artists at work at the plaza.

Magda Cwik. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Magda Cwik. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Magda Cwik. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Seno. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Seno. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
CHAN. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
CHAN. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Bubbles – Keruna. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Bubbles – Keruna. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Mega – Keruna. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
SOEM. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
SOEM. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Ives One. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Ives One. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Ives One – Seno. Kronos Festival. Plaza de las 3 Xemeneies, Barcelona, Spain. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
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Teo Vazquez and Mourad are Running “20 Meters”

Teo Vazquez and Mourad are Running “20 Meters”

Mourad is running! It’s 20 meters along this wall on the inner courtyard of
the Bac de Roda Housing Cooperative in Poblenou, a neighborhood of Barcelona, Spain.

Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

The new stop-action installation is meant to freeze for a moment the emotions and sensations that can occur during migration – which many people are forced today to do all over the world, whether they are escaping from hardship, fear, war, environmental extremes, or decimated economies.

Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Artist Teo Vázquez wants us to think about the distance that people run, and how crossing a simple national boundary can be the difference between life and death. If you studied Western art history, these figures may also call to mind warriors and heroes of so-called classical antiquity.

Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. Teo was assisted on site by fellow artist Magda Cwik. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Here Vázquez says he has captured “through a sequence of movements, different snapshots which reflect a mosaic of unique expressions.” This, he says, is “a figure who symbolically represents all who they have made a migratory journey risking their lives.”

Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. Teo was assisted on site by fellow artist Magda Cwik. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)

Born in Cadiz, now living in Barcelona, Vázquez is participating in the fourth edition of MURAL / LOCAL, an artistic action that annually renews this wall. He would like to thank his subject Mourad as well as his fellow artist Magda Cwik, who assisted him in hanging the new installation. Our thanks go to photographer Lluis Olive Bulbena, who shares his photos of this new work with BSA readers.

Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. Teo was assisted on site by fellow artist Magda Cwik. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. Teo was assisted on site by fellow artist Magda Cwik. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. Teo and fellow artist Magda Cwik with Mourad the young man depicted in the mural. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Teo Vázquez “20 Metros”. In collaboration with JISER. Barcelona, Spain. September, 2020. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
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Magda Cwik : A Vibrating Chakra in the Key of C in Mexico City

Magda Cwik : A Vibrating Chakra in the Key of C in Mexico City

Finding an inner sense of balance when living in the chaotic city is not easy, and you’ll have to be determined to achieve it after you’ve been pushed and pinched and insulted and assaulted – just on the way to work, or even the corner deli.

Traffic, construction, muffled train announcements, blaring radios, and boisterous conversations between Bernice and Brandon and Betty and Bernardo batter you from the time you leave your apartment until you arrive bedraggled and exhausted.

Magda Cwik. Vibraising – Root Chakra. After Hours Project. Mexico City. January 2020. (photo courtesy of After Hours Project)

For Polish muralist Magda Cwik, the pursuit of balance begins on a high note – and travels through your musical chakras. Here in the in Juárez neighborhood of Mexico City she has been painting a series of eight murals which she intends to assist urban dwellers to live in balance – including via their ears.

Magda Cwik. Vibraising – Root Chakra. After Hours Project. Mexico City. January 2020. (photo courtesy of After Hours Project)

“I combined specific colors, images, music and intentions to rise up vibrations of people on the street,” she tells us of a campaign she calls “Vibraising”. “The wall focuses on reactivation and connection with Mother Earth and grounding,” she says, and she includes a QR attached to the wall for you to scan and listen to music that corresponds to her desire to help you rebalance.

“How often do we walk with our bare feet to connect with Earth? Do we live in harmony with Her?” she asks. “Earth provides us with everything we need to sustain us if we live in balance. By connecting with Nature we can heal ourselves, and listen to the teachings of our ancestors.”

Magda Cwik. Vibraising – Root Chakra. After Hours Project. Mexico City. January 2020. (photo courtesy of After Hours Project)

For one example of the music, you will here, below is a colorful world vibrating in the key of C (for the Root Chakra) by artist Stephen Mahoney (@dj_stephenmanhoney)

Magda Cwik. Vibraising – Root Chakra. After Hours Project. Mexico City. January 2020. (photo courtesy of After Hours Project)
Magda Cwik. Vibraising – Root Chakra. After Hours Project. Mexico City. January 2020. (photo courtesy of After Hours Project)
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BSA Film Friday: 11.08.19

BSA Film Friday: 11.08.19

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

Now screening :
1. “AfroGrafiteiras” featuring Andrea Bak
2. Magda Cwik / Hotel 128 / Street Art City in France. Via After Hours Project
3. INDECLINE Presents: The Bird Box
4. INDECLINE Presents: Trumpster Fire
5. Mura Masa – Deal Wiv It with slowthai

BSA Special Feature: “AfroGrafiteiras” featuring Andrea Bak

AfroGrafiteiras is an urban art training project focused on the expression and promotion of the leading role of Afro-Brazilian women in activity since 2015.

Here in Episode 6 we get to see the bright mind of Andrea Bak as she talks about this Rio-based program that examines identity, society, tradition, and empowerment through the aerosol can.

To learn more about the #AfroGrafiteiras project visit www.redenami.com

Magda Cwik / Hotel 128 / Street Art City in France. Via After Hours Project

Check into the abandoned Hotel 128 in Lurcy-Lévis, France and you’ll find a stunning array of portals to worlds customized by Street Artists. Here’s the latest one, Room 108, painted by Magda Cwik.

INDECLINE Presents: The Bird Box

A quick commercial or not? Hacking the consumer system by re-cycling a new scooter craze into something useful for the homeless, who are now legion in LA? Either way it’s INDECLINE, who will literally tell you anything as long as you keep watching.

INDECLINE Presents: Trumpster Fire

You see the dumpster with Trump’s face on it, and you know what’s next. Thank you for completing the visual allegory that many have imagined.

Mura Masa – Deal Wiv It with slowthai

And now something new from the “No-Hope” generation. Back with his friend Slowthai, it’s a pop-locky-pock-marked-futility-fueled screed leading us into the weekend. Also, there is hope here.

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Magda C Says “Children and Fish Should be Heard” in Poland

Magda C Says “Children and Fish Should be Heard” in Poland

“Children and Fish Should be Heard”

Are we conscious enough to hear them?

Magda Cwik. “Children and Fish should be heard”. Urban Forms Foundation. Łódź, Poland. 2019. (photo courtesy of the artist)

No spray paint was used here by artist Magda C in this new mural for the day of the International Climate Strike, though the paint does illuminate in the daytime and shine at night, she tells us.

Magda Cwik. “Children and Fish should be heard”. Urban Forms Foundation. Łódź, Poland. 2019. (photo courtesy of the artist)

Painted in conjunction with the decade running Urban Forms Foundation here in Łódź, Poland in the Teofilów neighborhood, draws inspiration from the city’s famous textile traditions and the traditional patterns that persevere in public consciousness. The artist says that she is also interested in drawing viewers of this surrealist illustration style graphic to an emerging civic concept called “Conscious Consumption” as pertains to our daily choices in food and, well, everything.

Embedding symbols and icons that refer to recycling, renewable energy sources, reduction of CO2, the mural “relates to the current condition of our planet, as well as its uncertain future,” she says.

Magda Cwik. “Children and Fish should be heard”. Urban Forms Foundation. Łódź, Poland. 2019. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Magda Cwik. “Children and Fish should be heard”. Urban Forms Foundation. Łódź, Poland. 2019. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Magda Cwik. “Children and Fish should be heard”. Urban Forms Foundation. Łódź, Poland. 2019. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Magda Cwik. “Children and Fish should be heard”. Urban Forms Foundation. Łódź, Poland. 2019. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Magda Cwik. “Children and Fish should be heard”. Urban Forms Foundation. Łódź, Poland. 2019. (photo courtesy of the artist)
Magda Cwik. “Children and Fish should be heard”. Urban Forms Foundation. Łódź, Poland. 2019. (photo courtesy of the artist)
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