All posts tagged: UNESCO

SpY Rounds the Pyramids: An ORB to Show “Forever is Now”

SpY Rounds the Pyramids: An ORB to Show “Forever is Now”

A curation of sculptures in the environs of the great Egyptian pyramids is an audacious idea and one full of potential. With Egypt’s origins in the history of graffiti, it is also sublime to see some of today’s most talented international street artists who have made meaningful contributions to the scene, like El Seed and SpY, participating in this project by director Nadine Abdel Ghaffar.

SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)

Founder of Art D’Égypte, Ghaffer is an Egyptian curator, art consultant, and cultural ambassador – who speaks about the project as an ode to the transcendental power of art, with a focus on the convergences possible between historical and contemporary.

“Art becomes a collective responsibility, a conversation across time that enables each artist to contribute his/her own story to history,” Ghaffer recently told Scale Magazine. The second exhibition in a series, she calls the new show “Forever is Now II”.

SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)

Today we focus on the contribution of the Spaniard SpY, who continues to expand his visual and sculptural vocabulary with striking displays of geometric splendor that interact geographically and mathematically. SpY tells us that “‘Orb’ draws its inspiration from ancient Egyptian culture, using forms and materials that reference elements of mathematics and the notions of creation and rebirth.”

A multi-faced sphere of reflective geometries that simultaneously give individual interpretations of the sky, Pyramids, and the surroundings. It is a visual concert that pays respect to past accomplishments and instantly captures the streaming feeling of our digital world today. SpY says it is also inextricably linked to the lifetime of our sun, “conveying notions of creation and rebirth.”

SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)
SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)
SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)
SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ahmed Emad)
SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)
SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)
SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)
SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)
SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)
SpY. “Orb”. “Forever Is Now II” exhibition at Giza Pyramids. Cairo, Egypt. November 2022. (photo © Ruben P. Bescos)

Location: Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
Exhibition: ‘Forever Is Now II’ by Culturvator/ Art D’Égypte
Director: Nadine Abdel Ghaffar
Organizations: Culturvator/ Art D’Égypte, UNESCO, Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities

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Richt Paints Barnstaples’ 1st Mural, a Tribute to the Natural Beauty of His Hometown

Richt Paints Barnstaples’ 1st Mural, a Tribute to the Natural Beauty of His Hometown

Artist Rich Thorne aka Richt is lucky to be from a UNESCO world heritage site. A river port town of 25,000, his hometown of Barnstaple in North Devon, England has a “biosphere status”; a category reserved for places of great natural beauty.

Richt. A North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO Collaboration. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Tom Ham)

So it made perfect sense when the multidisciplinary artist who is now based in Bristol, UK was chosen to create the first mural in the town. With a background in commercial, corporate, and individual art projects in illustration, painting, toy design, and animation, he has a well-developed sense for what audiences like. He also has up-close familiarity with the UK graffiti scene in the early 2000s.

Richt. A North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO Collaboration. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Tom Ham)

This month Richt is participating in the new exhibition opening at Urban Nation in Berlin, another city to add to his list of public art projects and commissions in Barcelona, Amsterdam and London.  For today, we are showcasing this new public art mural for his hometown in Barnstaple.

“Returning to my home town to engage young people through art feels very significant to me,” he says, adding that he hopes the new mural can bridge a local conversation on the value of art to inspire positive action. Judging from the workshop he did with local kids to practice their graffiti tags, Richt is also part of that positive inspiration.

Richt. A North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO Collaboration. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Tom Ham)
Richt. A North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO Collaboration. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Tom Ham)
Richt. A North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO Collaboration. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Rob Tibbles)
Richt. A North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO Collaboration. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Rob Tibbles)
Richt. A North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO Collaboration. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Hanna Söderholm)
Richt. A North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO Collaboration. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Rob Tibbles)
Richt. North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO partnership supported workshop. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Hanna Söderholm)
Richt. North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO partnership supported workshop. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Hanna Söderholm)
Richt. North Devon Biosphere and UNESCO partnership supported workshop. Barnstaple, North Devon England. (photo © Hanna Söderholm)
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