Renowned Argentinian artist Elian Chali has recently completed his first ever mural in Barcelona. Chali was invited to Barcelona by Bostik Murals the urban art project developed by local organisation Difusor.
Alongside this mural the artist held a small exhibition of original pieces within the Nau Bostik gallery. However Difusor didn’t just stop there, they also held workshops for local schools, guided tours, live music and of course, food trucks. I’ve spoken about it many times before, but including the community is a must for such projects. Fingers crossed that some of the youngsters who participated were inspired enough to be creatives in later life.
The artists work is characterised by geometric compositions of primary colors and superimpositions that start a dialogue with both architecture and urban environment. In this spirit, Chali developed a striking piece full of colour in this old factory in La Sagrera, Barcelona. This factory has been revamped and transformed into a self-managed cultural centre. The art work was designed to respect the background, starting from the symbolic memory of this industrial building adding a new vision and writing a new chapter in its history.
Elian Chali
Self-taught artist Elian Chali, (Córdoba – Argentina, 1988) is a muralist, manager and promoter of artistic and cultural projects. His work can be found in more than twenty countries. In addition, he has also given workshops and talks about challenges in present-day cities and its relationship with various cultural processes. In 2016 he published his first book: ‘Habitat’ (Trimarchi Edicions).
Difusor
Difusor came into being as a response to the prohibitionary cultural environment over a decade ago and has been working to promote urban art ever since. They have been pioneers not only in the promotion of the first large-scale murals in Barcelona, but more importantly the legalisation of those murals in public spaces. Difusor also organises the Open Walls Conference festival and develops cross-cultural projects from as artistic management of public space and education to training and consultancy. Together with Bostik Murals, Difusor is developing a unique centre dedicated to urban art in Barcelona that aims to reach international relevance.
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