“Luz Nas Vielas”, Transforming a Neighborhood with Art

“Luz Nas Vielas”,  Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil;  A short film.

Intervention!  That’s the more academic word choice that people like to used euphemistically to describe putting up a piece of street art sometimes  – and one that belies a more holistic perception of Street Art’s overall potential to impact a community. So when Spanish Street Art collective Boa Mistura began talking about their planned “participative Urban Art interventions” in São Paulo this year, the implication was to somehow positively change conditions in the dense favelas using art and the creative spirit.

Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)

Describing art as “a tool for change and inspiration”, the Luz Nas Vielas project took place at the beginning of the year in the neighborhood of Vila Brasilândia, a community struggling economically. Hosted by the Gonçalves family, artists and organizers took time to get to know the neighborhood, study and analyze the narrow and winding streets that comprise a sort of urban net, and took part in a dialogue with residents.

Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)

With the active participation of neighbors, the Boa Mistura collective focused on some concepts that were identified as important to the area and used them as guidance. The words they collectively chose were Beleza, Firmeza, Amor, Doçura, and Orgulho (roughly translated as beauty, strength, love, kindness, and pride).  With these universal values in mind, artists made their interventions with the intention of using art as a tool for change and intervention.

See the video for a full account and judge for yourself how successful they were.

Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)

Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)

Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)

Boa Mistura “Luz Nas Vielas” Vila Brasilândia, São Paulo, Brasil. 2012 (still from video © Boa Mistura)

 

Visit Boa Mistura site to learn more about the work they do. Click here.

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