Murs Lliures Sant Martí — new legal walls open with 43 urban artists
Barcelona
30.7.2013
On 5, 6 and 7 July, the new Murs Lliures spaces in Sant Martí launched with an explosion of styles and colours, thanks to a total of 43 urban artists who took part in the opening of these walls, showing off the quality found in our city and its surrounding area.
These were three hot days, with the sun showing no mercy, but even so, sooner or later, every piece was finished with spectacular results, as you can see in this photo collection. The buzz urban art has been generating in the city lately was also clear from the number of national media outlets that showed up: TV3, BTV, La Vanguardia. Here’s a summary of how they covered the event.
The people from RedBull also did their bit, offering little refreshment breaks that helped keep the artists cool. These are the first Murs Lliures walls in Sant Martí, but we hope they won’t be the last. Even though they add up to more than 380 metres of wall, it’s clear that’s nowhere near enough. Once again, we stress how important it is that you upload your photos to the website, so we can show the authorities just how many artists are out there demanding legal walls.
In the video, a TV3 report explains how Poblenou got the smell of spray paint back: the district hands over abandoned walls so artists can paint legally, after municipal by-laws pushed them off the street. The project's promoters speak, and the piece asks whether banning actually works.
Video transcript (translated from Catalan)1 min 29 s
It had been a while since the streets of Poblenou smelled of spray paint. Ever since Barcelona banned painting in the street a few years ago, those who do it had moved away. Now they are back, thanks to an initiative that has persuaded the district to hand over several walls, abandoned until now, for them to pour their creativity into.
«We are working in a space that belongs to everyone and to no one. We want to use spaces that currently have no use —empty lots, construction hoardings, site walls— so that anyone can paint and show their work. It is a way of being able to paint a mural […]. Normally, when you have no permit or anything, you have to do things very fast, sometimes very illegally.»
They say Barcelona was one of the pioneering cities in urban art and that there is a great deal of talent here, but municipal by-laws made it disappear from the city's streets, where only the most vandalistic graffiti remains, dirtying the walls.
«Banning something doesn't always work; you always have to look for other routes and put some trust in public participation, because otherwise we don't believe the city is ours.»
Perhaps the moment has come to reconcile the city's people with an art form that, given time and the right conditions, can surprise a passer-by with an explosion of colour.
Video by TV3. Video transcript, edited for reading: repetitions and verbal fillers have been removed, the text has been punctuated and speakers are identified.
