Viu el mur de Sant Boi — painting the wall of a mental health centre

The proposal from the Centre Sanatori de Sant Boi was warmly received by the platform and by the participating artists, as a new opportunity to bring urban art closer to people. It involved painting the wall that, until then, separated the town from the centre, and which acted as a kind of insurmountable barrier that people wanted to bring down. The “Obrim el Mur” (“Let’s Open the Wall”) initiative wanted to paint it before it was demolished, to spark a process of reflection around the centre and what these barriers — more symbolic than real — actually mean.

A total of 80 artists created their pieces on a wall roughly 300 metres long and 4 metres high. A workshop was also held so that local residents could take part, including the mayor of Sant Boi, who also painted a piece of their own. People from inside the centre also took part, picking up a spray can and creating their own work, closing the circle of active participation in the platform’s events and once again showing its impact on strengthening social cohesion in neighbourhoods.

Following this participatory methodology, artistic interventions were carried out on the ground of the square and along the whole street, successfully passing on the neighbourhood’s history and needs to the other artists as a source of inspiration for the interventions they would carry out during the festival days. With this starting point, the event was designed as a whole, becoming an amalgam of proposals ranging from live artist exhibitions to attendees taking part in talks and workshops, as well as live music and performances or interactive installations.