The Pompei Street Art Festival features a familiar selection of events, tours, panels, workshops, performances, murals, and eye candy that you have come to expect from these public/private events meant to spark interest in a city, its downtown, its economy.
Emmeu. Pompei Street Art Festival. First Edition/2021. Pompei, Italy. (photo courtesy of Pompei Street Art Festival)
But the difference here is that the city of Pompei provides a link to ancient graffiti, the citizens of ancient Pompei used chalk and sharp tools to write on walls to express and communicate with each other and of course, it offers a link to the Romans and to the richest archaeological site perhaps in the world. It would be difficult to overemphasize its importance after the discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum, not only because of the scholarship that followed it but its influence over the 18th century in both France and England; the neo-classical style, of contemporary renditions of the imagination of the classical world. Buried under ash in 79CE, the history of the excavated city influences the environment, the architecture, the mosaics, water towers, schools, temples, taverns.
Bosoletti. Pompei Street Art Festival. First Edition/2021. Pompei, Italy. (photo courtesy of Pompei Street Art Festival)
So without narration, we first gaze over the murals produced during this festival. One may reflect on that influence of centuries past on every artist participating here, and wonder how this is informing their choices, their techniques, their sense of place in history. We look forward to bringing you the second edition of this fresh new festival in 2022.
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After three weeks of collecting plastic from nearby beaches, the fountain sculpture is completed with the hopes of bringing attention to the environment. The collection of plastic was done in conjunction with Plasticfreeit. The Cian team is composed of Carlos, Max, Rata, and Marcel.
Colectivo Cian. Pompei Street Art Festival. First Edition/2021. Pompei, Italy. (photo courtesy of Pompei Street Art Festival)
A
man of leisure these days, BSA contributor Lluis Olive-Bulbena took a three day
trip to Valencia, Spain to participate in the festivities of El dia del
Cabanyal.
El Cabanyal is a 333 acre (134 hectares) neighborhood in the old part of the city by the Mediterranean Sea, backed by a series of sandy beaches and a palm treed promenade. Its name is derived by the complex of barracks along the shore where the fishermen used to live when the town was purely a fishing village.
With the passage of time and change of the Spanish economy, El Cabanyal caught the eye of the leisure class who fill the streets with souvenir shops, cafes, and late-night clubs. The fishermen went someplace else. Not surprisingly perhaps, this tourist attraction is also a hot spot for Street Art – along with the greater city of Valencia for that matter.
We are told that many Street Artists have actually set-up studio here as well. Why not? The quality of life is nice, and the cost of living is much lower than in Barcelona and Madrid.