Smar’t — a large-format corporate mural in Girona

Rebobinart is an association that works towards the democratisation of urban art in Barcelona. We make the political, artistic and cultural reality of the phenomenon known first-hand. One of our goals is to give urban art new meaning as a communication tool.

Among our activities we can list active participation in official festivities and participatory workshops aimed at raising awareness of the world of urban art — among other things, shaping the social imagination so that urban art is seen as a means of social communication, useful for many stakeholders in the city. Samar’t is a company that hired our custom muralism service. Located in a town in Girona, part of a 25,000 square-metre warehouse became the canvas for our team of professional artists.

The brief was to decorate a 250 square-metre wall with the aim of giving the company visibility through urban art. Samar’t is an independent company with a long track record within the industrial sector, both nationally and, now, worldwide.

Why use urban art to advertise and decorate a company? Muralism is an art form that has gone through different stages within the social landscape, from its beginnings in the 1970s on the streets of New York up to the present day. The world of graffiti has always been shrouded in mystery, defined within underground cultures, in a way identified as a counterculture.

Today we live in an era where technology facilitates and connects. It is the medium par excellence, and precisely because of its exclusive, massive use, we find ourselves needing to look for new means of communication — closer to the public, seeking innovative ideas and approaches that make a difference. This is where urban art and the world of muralism gain notoriety. Muralism is a visual communication channel with significant social impact, since its origins lie in society itself and, obviously, because it is the public who produces it — so its perception isn’t tainted by economic, political or social interests, which gives it a 100% social, close-to-home connotation.

Muralism fulfils characteristics and functions belonging to art, such as aesthetic emotion, being a vehicle for communicating emotions and realities, and having a persuasive function, trying to convince and involve the viewer. In this case, Samar’t took advantage of the qualities muralism offers to give visibility and publicity to its company’s products.