Beyond September. After 8 years, this newsletter has found its name.
Artists POV and more cool stuff, in your 1st-of-the-month newsletter
Ciao,
how are you?
September marked the 11th anniversary of the BLocal blog, but this year, I haven’t published any heart-wrenching video ;) Instead, I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the past and the future of the blog because I’m working on the speech I will give at Cagliari Urbanfest on October 7th, which is about the way I communicate and promote urban art.
At last, I could use a title that has been in my head for a long time (“Writing about writing”), while the keynote is on what feels important to me to highlight about a festival, an artist, or even a city, and -most importantly- why.
All this thinking led me to a couple of breakthroughs, the first being a name for this newsletter (after *only* eight years of sending it to you every 1st of the month). While writing the keynote for the talk, I realized that I kept stressing the fact that I bring readers beyond the pretty mural, beyond the painted surface, beyond a tag, beyond the city center and the package of "must-do things” designed for tourists.
Moreover, through this newsletter, I bring you beyond the BLocal blog as you can see it from the web, sharing with you what happened on this side of the screen in the past month, the reasons why I published what I published, and what I’m up to next.
Do you see the pattern? ;)
So… drumroll please… here is Beyond the Walls.
(also, from now on, every newsletter will be titled “Beyond [month that has just ended],” so you are going to spot a pattern in your inbox too)
Second breakthrough: I’ve finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up ;) Or, at least, what I want to do with BLocal in the coming years. I’m still bringing you beyond the touristic surface and writing about places you won’t find in the guidebooks. Still, now I want to offer you more: I want to create custom travel itineraries based on your interests and passions, connecting you with the creative side of a city and revealing all the hidden gems you won’t easily find around the web.
The general idea is that we will have a chat about what you like and want to see, and then I will send you a list of spots and/or a complete itinerary to explore your destination off the beaten path. I’m still working out the details, but if you want to try the service at a launch price or just give me your feedback about the presentation text I wrote, or the idea in general, click on the button below.
That’s all; I hope to see some of you in Cagliari next week!
Until next month,
Giulia
New on the blog!
Laser 3.14 and the Democratization of Graffiti
When I moved to Amsterdam, one of the first artists that got my attention was the street poet Laser 3.14, who began combining graffiti with poetry in the early 2000s.
Transforming Candid Family Moments into Large-Scale Murals
After driving along the most impervious roads in southern Italy to admire the murals he painted in Basilicata last summer, I finally met Mohamed L’Ghacham at the Nuart Aberdeen Festival so I could witness his artistic process and ask him some questions.
The Story Behind The Most Photographed Murals in Rome
While I’m updating and re-arranging all my articles about street art in Rome, I thought to add some context to the most photographed murals in the city: the Big City Life project at Tor Marancia neighbourhood. You know, to bring you Behind the Walls ;) (loving this name already)
You somehow stumbled upon my blog and subscribed to the newsletter, but you have no idea who I am and how my blogging journey has unfolded so far? Here I share the ups and downs of my first 11 years of blogging :)
If you value genuine blogging, and have been using my travel and street art maps, please consider making a contribution. Your support makes all of this possible.
Street Dispatch - September 22
The Monkeybird duo has just realized this giant mural (600 sqm) in Antibes, France, using their signature multi-layered stencil technique, through which they render lines and sharp contrasts between black and white fields. Their approach to public art is strongly influenced by 20th-century British arts and crafts movements and French art nouveau -hence the stained glass effect that characterizes their works.
At Rotterdam's All Caps Festival (previously Pow! Wow! Rotterdam), the English duo Nomad Clan painted "The Equation." The mural homages ancient Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd, the founder of Averroism and an advocate of women's rights already in the medieval age. As usual, the artists added a local twist to the mural: each flower represents one of the many ethnicities living in this multicultural neighbourhood of Rotterdam.
Let's stay in The Netherlands, where Spanish artist SpY has just realized this street installation at my beloved NDSM wharf in Amsterdam Noord. "Barrier Tape" is a kinetic and sound sculpture made of pieces of barrier tape. The work decontextualizes an everyday urban element used to control and condition the movement of people, and uses it to create ever-shifting, hypnotic patterns.
"Indignons-nous" (“Let’s be outraged”) is the latest artwork by Corentin Spear painted for Strasbourg's "Colors Urban Art" festival. Despite the 17th-century aesthetics, the artwork has a very contemporary theme: contestation and social struggles. The artist challenges us to become aware of social injustices and act upon them as the only way to a better society.
The Brandalism collective created a subvertising campaign targeting airline advertising over its climate impact. Subvertising (as in the crasis of ‘subvert’ and ‘advertising’) refers to the practice of taking over ad spaces in the city as an act of civil disobedience, either by replacing the ad with an artwork, or by (creatively) modifying it (more on the blog).
In this massive coordinated subvertising action across the UK, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Belgium and France, anonymous Brandalism crews hijacked over 500 corporate advertising spaces, replacing adverts with satirical artworks denouncing the role of aviation industry advertising in the climate crisis.
Lastly, if you are planning a trip to Lisbon in October, on top of the city's stunning urban art collection, there are two events you shouldn't miss:
My friend Nuno Viegas has a solo show at the legendary Underdogs Gallery (on view until October 22nd). Nuno's work is about the clean representation of iconic objects from graffiti culture. His minimal compositions recall still-life paintings and directly contradict the rough visual identity of graffiti. At the Lisbon exhibition "Getting up," Nuno presents, for the very first time, a series of sculptures made of hand-folded screen prints on golden paper -and it looks like his hyper-realistic objects had come to life!
Another friend, another solo show: on October 8th, Bordalo II inaugurates "Evilution" at Lisbon's Edu Hub (on view until December 11th). Bordalo II is known for creating street installations made of trash and discarded materials. Through his 'Big Trash Animals,' Bordalo II highlights the critical conditions of endangered species threatened by the enormous amount of garbage created by humans. I've always been a great fan of his street works, but since my friends and I organized an indoor exhibition with his works in 2016 ("Forgotten: The Exhibition" at Rome's MACRO Museum), I'm even more fascinated by his studio works.
Street Art Open Calls - Deadline in October 22
You can apply to the prestigious Arte Laguna Prize until October 31st. Besides a specific section dedicated to Street and Urban Art, the Venice institution also welcomes applications from painters, photographers, video artists, sculptors, performing artists, designers and graphic artists.
Can art help decode what’s happening in the 21st century? The Gallery invites ten artists from around the world to make art about “The State We’re In.” Selected artists will receive a fee and their work will be reproduced at scale and displayed for millions to see in public sites traditionally reserved for advertising across UK. Deadline: October 16th.
London Calling! (sorry, I couldn’t resist). You can send your posters to The London International Paste-Up Festival before October 15th. (maximum size: 2 meters).
There are millions of stories, myths, and songs about the vital communication and reciprocity between all the species. The Improper Walls' open call for artists invites them to submit artworks that have kin as the main protagonist -to amplify the existence and intelligence of plant species. Deadline: October 14th.
Florida’s non-profit organisation “Embracing our differences” is looking for urban artists for an outdoor juried art exhibit featuring 50 billboard size images reflecting the theme “enriching lives through diversity.” There is a cash prize and you should apply before October 5th.
If you’d rather prefer to focus on creating art, I can take care of everything else :) Let me help you in finding painting opportunities, communicating what you do, and getting international press coverage. Contact me by replying to this email.