Last week, the first Biennial of Public Art and Muralism took place in Cali, Colombia; inviting 33 artists, 17 international artists. This is a pretty big deal given that Cali is a medium scale city that has struggled with drug cartels and violence. In recent years, the city has made efforts to develop more positive outlets for communities through various non profit and government ran projects. Considering Cali’s context, bringing together international artists to create murals and workshops proves that the development of community awareness to nurture cities, towns and neighborhoods is spreading via public art throughout various geopolitical boundaries. Festivals like this are inspired by street art movements in Europe and the U.S, and although some headliners in Cali’s Biennial of Public Art and Muralism are from those countries, most artists and speakers are Latin American and I can only predict that more festivals (organized and headlined by Latinos) are going to take force in Central and South America in order to give agency and more local cultural context to those artists and their communities.
Here are some works by Spaik (Mexico) in the Stadium Pascual Guerrero, Cali.
Photo courtesy of SpaikSpaik. Photo courtesy of Spaik.
And here are some works by Painters (Chile) in the Stadium Pascual Guerrero, Cali.
Painters. Click to view large. Photo courtesy of Painters.Painters. Photo courtesy of Painters.Painters. Photo courtesy of Painters.
Abu Sami’s Family in Jabal Al Qala’a overlooking downtown Amman
The Jordanian Jabal Al Qala’a community, situated on Amman’s highest hill, had a rare treat earlier this month. Through the efforts and support of the British Council, noted London-based street artist Stik brought his talent and passion to this historic district, where – Stik notes — “stray cats rummage through rubbish tips and children play in the streets.” In partnership with An Urban Reflection Residency Project and Creative Jordan: Platform for Visionary Ideas Festival, Stik, along with 10 local Jordanian artists, worked with local children to transform the visual landscape of this special space. Here are a few more images:
I love the way Stik and a growing number of street artists facilitate community art projects, using street art as a social tool. Since the festival was launched, the area has seen crowds of tourists, a fashion shoot and a hip-hop music video crew. For more images from this project, known as Outer Space in Al Qala’a, check here.
Photos courtesy of Stik and Alaa Qattam of the British Council
If you want to go see the mural for yourself, it’s on Mulberry Street between Canal and Hester in New York’s Little Italy. Or, stop by on Saturday at noon for The Art of Comedy‘s art crawl and we’ll be walking by all of the murals that Ron, Hanksy and gilf! have painted in Little Italy.
PS, thanks to Montana Cans for all the paint that made this wall possible.
Photo by Wayne RadaPhoto by Lois Stavsky. Click to view large.Photo by Wayne RadaPhoto by Wayne Rada
Last week we announced The Art of Comedy, a series of art installations and murals with The New York Comedy Festival that Wayne Rada and I curated. The Art of Comedy also coincided with solo shows by all three of the artists involved: Ron English, gilf!, and Hanksy. Due to Hurricane Sandy, both the official unveiling of the murals that these artists have painted in Little Italy and their solo show openings have been delayed by a week. So, here’s what the calendar looks like now for The Art of Comedy and those gallery shows:
November 7th-11th: The Art of Comedy installations by Ron English, Hanksy, and gilf! are up in lounge inside of the comedy club Carolines on Broadway.
November 10th at noon: The Art of Comedy Art Crawl starts at Caffe Roma on Mulberry and Broome streets and continues down Mulberry towards Canal Street as we check out Little Italy’s latest murals.
Early Saturday morning, Rhiannon Platt joined Hanksy as he worked on two of his walls for The New York Comedy Festival‘s The Art of Comedy, which was curated by myself and Wayne Rada and also supported by Montana Cans and Little Italy. The walls feature Jim Gaffigan and Aziz Ansari, who are both performing at the New York Comedy Festival.
Completed mural, “Explanation of how freedom (in the male form) and revolution meet to create a liberated Puerto Rico”. Photo by Nicolás Romero aka Ever.
I discovered Ever’s extraordinary aesthetic when I visited Baltimore earlier this year. I was mesmerized — from blocks away — by his distinct fusion of the photorealistic and the abstract. I was delighted to see him at work on my recent visit to Puerto Rico, but I didn’t get to see the completed mural — until now, courtesy of the artist.
Ever at work in “Los Muros Hablan”. Photo by Dani Mozeson.
UPDATE: THE ART CRAWL / MURAL TOUR WILL TAKE PLACE ON NOVEMBER 10TH AT NOON RATHER THAN NOVEMBER 3RD.
The New York Comedy Festival, in association with Vandalog, Little Italy and Montana Cans, are bringing street art into this year’s New York Comedy Festival with The Art of Comedy. The Art of Comedy is a series of indoor and outdoor installations around Manhattan by some of New York’s funniest street artists: Ron English, Hanksy, and Gilf!. The installations include murals in Little Italy on Mulberry Street between Canal and Broome, and work inside of the historic comedy club Carolines on Broadway. I’m very excited to be a co-curator on this project alongside Wayne Rada. Caroline Hirsch, of Carolines on Broadway and creator of the New York Comedy Festival, says,”We’re always looking for new and creative ways in which humor is represented in art. These talented artists add a really unique element to this year’s festival, literally taking comedy to the streets.”
The installations inside of Carolines on Broadway by all three artists will be up from November 7th-11th, so if you’re going to check out The Wayans Brothers or maybe one of theother New York Comedy Festival shows at Carolines, be sure to have a look around the Carolines Lounge before you get seated for the show.
Over on Mulberry, the artists will be painting a mix of temporary and permanent murals. Ron’s mural is of particular note since it will be the first mural he has painted in Manhattan (excluding billboard takeovers) since 1987, and this one is going to be big enough that it may just be worth the wait. I’m also looking forward to seeing the election-themed work that Gifl! will put up and work by Hanksy starring some of the performers in this year’s New York Comedy Festival.
I hope you’ll join us on Saturday, November 3rdNovember 10th at noon on a short tour of the completed murals. We’ll be meeting at Caffe Roma (385 Broome Street).
The Art of Comedy and The New York Comedy Festival also line up nicely with solo shows from all three artists opening on November 1stNovember 10th. Ron’s show, Crucial Fiction, opens from 6-9pm at Opera Gallery NYC (115 Spring St) and runs through November 29th. Gilf! will be showing at Galerie Swanström (136 Sullivan Street, 3rd Floor) opening from 5-9pm. Hanksy’s show, Young Puns 2 – Now With More Pun, opens at Krause Gallery (149 Orchard Street) from 6-9pm and runs through November 28th.
As for the main events at the New York Comedy Festival, this year has some amazing headliners performing all over the city including Aziz Ansari, Bill Maher, Robin Williams and more. Personally, Caroline and I are going to try to catch Jim Gaffigan. The full schedule can be found here.
Niels “Shoe” Meulman paints a mural within sight of a former bank. Photo by Ian Cox.
In part 4 of my series of posts about this year’s Nuart Festival (here are parts one, two, and three), I’ve finally gotten to the murals and more traditional street work of this year’s festival. This year, Nuart is responsible for new murals in Stavanger by Niels “Shoe” Meulman, Ron English, Dolk, How&Nosm, Mobstr and Eine.
Ron English. Photo by Ian Cox.Mobstr. Photo by Ian Cox.
During our brief visit to Puerto Rico, we had the chance to view Jaz — one of our favorite artists — at work and discover the enchanting aesthetics of Mexican artist Eyel and local artists Pun18 and Tony Rodriguez, Josue Oquendo, Aslan Uno, and Esteban Ruiz of the Puerto Rican arts collective, Hello Again. Here are some more images:
Eyel — from Mexico — at workPun18 in progressPun18, close-up from completed muralHello Again, close-up in progress
Photo credits: Jaz and Hello Again by Lois Stavsky; Eyel by Dani Mozeson; Pun18 in progress by Lenny Collado and close-up courtesy of the artist
