A day with the pioneers.
The non-touristy side of Italy and more cool stuff, in your 1st-of-the-month newsletter.
Ciao,
how are you?
I had something else in store for you this month. In fact, the introduction to the December newsletter was practically already written, but just yesterday, I had the honor of spending an entire day not with one, not with two, but with three pioneers of urban creativity. I couldn't resist sharing the excitement of this crazy day with you!
As I write these lines, I still don't know if these notes will turn into an article for the blog. Let's do it this way: you can tell me by replying to this email if you want to read more about the event organized by Inward in Rome yesterday. The stars of the show were Cornbread, the legendary graffiti writer from Philadelphia who kickstarted the graffiti movement in 1965, Blek Le Rat, a pioneer of street art and stencil master, and Mono Carrasco, the Chilean painter who brought South American muralism to Europe in the '70s with its political baggage.
Actually, there were six pioneers in total because alongside these three legends were their Italian counterparts: from Milan, FLYCAT, a disciple of Rammellzee and one of the first graffiti writers in Italy; also from Milan, Teatro, one of the first Italian street artists; and finally, Ozmo, the first Italian artist to paint super-sized murals, originally from Tuscany but now living in Paris.
Lastly, as expected given the level of the discussion, many artists from the Roman scene were in the room. I finally got to meet live NAPAL, the first Roman graffiti writer (I had told his story here), Gomez (I'll talk about his amazing recent work in a cemetery in Bolivia towards the end of this newsletter), Er Pinto, Rosk, Muges, and many others.
The panel was held at none other than the Ministry of Culture (quite surprisingly, considering the low cultural level and poor open-mindedness of the current Minister of Culture, but let's not dwell on that...), and it was organized by the fantastic team at Inward, the National Observatory on Urban Creativity, which I had already mentioned to you after my trip to Naples earlier this year.
"If we do the things we do, it's thanks to the pioneers"
Luca Borriello, founder of Inward, opening the conference.
The talk was super interesting and full of curious anecdotes. The world's first graffiti artist told us about the origin of his name and, more importantly, how he came up with the idea to start writing it on every wall in Philadelphia - and eventually beyond the walls (just like the name of this newsletter!). In one of the anecdotes shared yesterday, Cornbread told us about tagging the side of an actual elephant at the Philadelphia Zoo to debunk newspaper articles that falsely reported him dead in a shooting.
Street art pioneer Blek Le Rat told us that his moniker comes from his favorite comic book as a teenager: "Il Grande Blek," an Italian book, by the way! While Blek Le Rat is often highlighted for inspiring hundreds of street artists worldwide, including Banksy (who has been quoted as saying: "Every time I think I've painted something slightly original, I find out that Blek le Rat has done it as well. Only twenty years earlier"), you'll be surprised to learn what inspired him: a propagandistic stencil depicting Mussolini from World War II, which he had seen during a trip to Italy as a kid.
Finally, Mono Carrasco told us about how radically different the experience of Chilean Muralism is: it contrasts the individualism of a writer compulsively writing their own name with a collective experience, a "mass” painting where many people not only paint together but also share the whole process, from ideation to cleaning the brushes when it's all done. Founder of the Brigada Ramona Parra, Mono has been a political refugee in Italy since 1974, when he climbed over the wall of the Italian embassy in Santiago, Chile, with the help of a nun from Trieste, who, besides him, saved hundreds of people after Pinochet's coup d’etat.
At this point, there would be interventions from the three Italian pioneers, but this email is already well beyond Gmail's tolerated maximum length (which BTW means that at some point later on, you'll have to click on "read the entire message" or similar to continue reading this newsletter), so:
Anyway, after the conference, the day continued in a traditional restaurant and ended in an independent bookstore in Trastevere, where the three legendary artists painted together in the garden and signed people’s blackbooks.
If you've been following my adventures at various street art festivals around Europe for a while, you probably already know that I didn't have a blackbook. What held me back was always the thought, "it's too late now, I should have started years ago" - a silly thought, I know, because, of course, the more time passes, the more opportunities are missed.
However, yesterday, I decided to break this 12-year-long chain of missed opportunities and buy my first blackbook, thinking: "if I don't start with the three artists who started the urban creativity revolution, I'll never start!" Needless to say, I immediately got into it and had it signed by various artists in the audience too 😂
And you, do you have a blackbook? What encounters does it keep? Let me know by replying to this email.
We'll catch up next month (or rather: next year! 😉) directly from Paris!
Enjoy the final stretch of 2023,
Giulia
ps. Next week I'm in Breda, The Netherlands, to bring you behind the scenes of the Blind Walls Film Fest, an extraordinary cinematic exploration into the realm of murals, street art, and graffiti (more info about the festival below).
On top of providing exclusive coverage of the festival on the blog and across social media, I’m moderating a Q&A with my friend and talented filmmaker Kristina Bohres from MZM Production on Sunday 10th at 4 PM -see you there!
Travel with me!
Beyond the Louvre: Unveiling the ultimate details for our first trip together!
This month, I've been studying like crazy to finalize the six itineraries for our first trip together!
There are so many places in Paris that I want to take you to that I ended up extending the walks to make the most of daylight hours: with the new schedule, we'll be exploring the city from 10 AM to 6 PM (but the price stays the same!).
I've sprinkled some extra details on the blog to really spark your imagination, but just so you know, there are tons of surprises and quirky spots I'm keeping under wraps until the trip. I'll just tell you that the average lenght of the itineraries is 13 KM, so you can imagine that the explorations are quite rich in things to discover together. :-)
Next month, I'll be coming up with backup plans for each route, just in case it decides to rain (you know, it's the first week of the year in Paris!). That way, if we need a cozy hideout, we'll have a bunch of cool options.
Remember, each urban walk has its own theme, and you can book them separately. But don't dawdle, the groups are gonna be small and cozy, and some days are already all booked up!
NEW on the blog!
Exploring Offbeat Italy: Casa Albero’s Endlessly Modular Architectural Marvel.
I’ve been eager to explore this extraordinary piece of architecture for a long time! Conceived by an entire family of architects for their own summer house, Casa Albero in Fregene is a unique architectural masterpiece located less than an hour’s drive from Rome.
P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this rekindled format. I’m toying with the idea of returning to my blogging beginnings, reminiscent of the early 2010s when these short glimpses of hidden gems were the norm on BLocal blog, phone-snapped photos and all. So, going forward, I’ll be experimenting with this “new-old” format, crafting blog posts designed to ignite your wanderlust and foster a genuine connection with our shared passion for off-the-beaten-path exploration. Let me know if you like the idea! 😉
Calcata’s Hidden Treasures of Street Art and Architectures.
I recently had the opportunity to explore the charming village of Calcata, which plays host to the R/Esistenza Street Art Gallery. Despite its name, R/Esistenza Street Art Gallery is not a traditional gallery confined within four walls; rather, it’s an urban journey teeming with public artworks that have blossomed from the interaction between artists and the welcoming local community.
Announcing the Media Partnership with Blind Walls Film Fest.
As mentioned above, I’m traveling to Breda to bring you behind the scenes of the Blind Walls Film Fest, a film festival about graffiti, street-art and murals. The festival promises a rich program, featuring screenings, masterclasses, and talks -you can browse through the full program on the blog.
Hit me up if you are coming to Breda for the festival, I’d love to explore the city’s amazing public art collection together!
Updated!
Not-touristy Markets in Rome.
Your requests for personalizing my Rome street art tours often include preferences for exploring food markets and flea markets, making it clear that an update of this article was warranted. Take a look at the latest additions and tell me which one you like the best!
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Handpicked by yours truly
I'm resurrecting this segment of things that struck me in the past month after shelving it for several newsletters because last month there was an art project that I absolutely want to tell you about. It combines street art and cemeteries - two main topics of my blog:
Ñatinta, a self-managed project by the local collective Perrosueltos in La Paz, Bolivia, has adorned the general cemetery with over 100 murals inspired by the Day of the Dead and ñatitas—skulls preserved by many families at home, serving as advisors.
Luis Gomez de Teran's roof intervention, November 2023. This initiative, born in 2016, aims to revive the intangible cultural heritage tied to this celebration on November 8th. Following our previous discussions on potentially imposed urban art, Ñatinta stands out as a project embraced by the locals. Families are now actively asking artists to paint the resting places of their loved ones because, in the Aymara tradition, vibrant colors repel evil spirits. I hope to share more about this project with you next year, directly from the cemetery of La Paz!
With the Stavanger edition of the Nuart Festival no longer in the picture, Martyn Reed continues to produce impactful murals in his city, inviting artists throughout the year. Last month, it was Hera and Millo's turn to contribute to the ever-expanding "Trains, Planes & Automobiles" project, which encompasses artworks in places of transit.
Hera’s piece at the train station is titled “We all are Birds of Migration. Some With Feathers, Some Without.”
This video, created by Michel Gondry for Jean-François Coen's song "La tour de Pise," showcases the rich typographic diversity of Parisian signs. If these signs fascinate you, I have the perfect urban walk for you: on January 4th, I’m visiting a museum that covers the history of Paris from Antiquity to the 20th century, with an entire floor dedicated to old Parisian signage. Do you wanna come with me?
Despite my boyfriend and me exchanging puzzled glances throughout the entire documentary, wondering, 'What are we even watching?' I recommend this surreal film dedicated to Mr. Chat. Don't make the mistake I did, though, thinking it's a documentary about the renowned street artist who's been painting grinning cats on the roofs of Paris for 20 years. The cats are there, but in a completely different context: the street demonstrations in Paris during the early 2000s -protests against the military operations in Iraq post-9/11, Le Pen's breakthrough in the 2002 presidential elections, and the AIDS demonstration with the Champ de Mars filled with a crowd of corpses. An interesting glimpse into contemporary French society.
Another documentary I viewed in anticipation of our Paris trip is "Banksy, The Bataclan, and the Sad Girl." It recounts the tale of a door that sparked a police manhunt after Banksy painted it in memory of the victims of the 2015 terrorist attack on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris. The door was stolen but later discovered in a neglected village in Italy. Such a captivating story!
This documentary brought to mind another film I watched during my time in Amsterdam, titled "The Man Who Stole Banksy" (2018), featuring Christian Omodeo. Directed by Marco Proserpio, the movie delves into the realm of copyright in street art and explores the artist's impact on Palestinian territories. It examines the economic benefits recognized by some residents and the disapproval from those who would prefer the artist to contribute funds to refugee camps instead.
Speaking of Marco Proserpio, just a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of watching his latest film, which centers around the infamous CANEMORTO trio and their unexpected triumph in a plein air painting competition. The film isn't currently accessible on their youtube channel, but it will be soon. Stay tuned! In the meantime, check out their other completely insane escapades already available online.
5 Urban Art Exhibitions in December 2023:
On December 2nd, Alice Pasquini will kick off her solo exhibition at Rosso Sette Art Gallery in Rome - count on finding me there!
December 6th is the opening day of the amazing immersive exhibition “Loading: Street Art in the Digital Age” curated by Christian Omodeo for Paris’ Grand Palais Immersif. Just a heads up, there are a few spots left if you'd like to join me on January 4th for a visit to the exhibition. This comes right after an exclusive meeting with Christian at his bookshop.
Still on January 4th, we are visiting together the solo exhibition of South-African street artist Faith47, which opens on December 2nd at Danyszgallery in Paris. What are you waiting for to book this urban walk? ;-)
December 6th is the deadline for sending your best paste-ups and stickers to the crew organizing Naples Paste Up Festival, which will happen on December 16th and 17th in Naples, Italy.
Last but not least, several urban contemporary art exhibitions will happen during Miami Art Week, this year running from December 6th to 10th. As you probably already know, Wynwood Walls is the world's most highly attended street art gathering. Have you ever been there? Let me know by replying to this email!
Now you have a Blek Book - how exciting!
Attendiamo dettagli sul blog riguardanti la conferenza! Ottimi spunti ed info come sempre :)