Spain, in all terms, is globally known because of its culture. Moreover, the graffiti festival and modern art industry in our country observes how the number of dedicated events increases year after year. In the same vein, the street art figure is becoming present in all autonomous communities.
According to La Ventana del Arte, the biggest online contemporary art guide in Spanish language, there were 182 fairs and exhibitions planned for this 2020. They are distributed along the territory and part of them have suffered changes due to Coronavirus. However, the scene is still alive!
Furthermore, Spanish tourism boards and other travel related projects concluded that inviting muralists and urban artists to their cities was an incredible opportunity for new jobs & alternative ways for income. These organizations analyzed holidays’ trends and observed that young travelers are always looking for different things to do while in other cities/countries.
That’s the reason why today’s article will dig into the Spanish post-graffiti movement and will offer you insider information about the most relevant festivals. For example:
- How is a graffiti festival organized?
- Popular street art events in Spain
- Important aspects to take into account
What should you know before attending a graffiti festival?
Similarly to what happens with other events of this kind, logistics are the basic principles for the organizers. Street art projects and/or independent curators prepare them with at least one year in advance so that there is no last minute downturns. Organizing a graffiti festival usually involves permissions from city councils. It takes time!
Imagine you would have to create an urban art experience for all audiences, wouldn’t you count with specialists in all departments? First of all, you’ll have to count with the artists’ participation. Later, you will require materials & outsourced services. Last but not least, how are you going to let the public know that your festival will take place?
Material resources required
When developing mural decorations in the urban landscape, artists usually paint on top of electric elevators or cherry pickers. They reach to building facades as tall as 25 meters thanks to this engineering platform. Others, although the less, rappel to paint over unreachable surfaces.
Paint is another element to be included at any graffiti festival organization. Artists usually receive wall paint to color the background, and spray cans to shape figures & letters. Did you know that stickers are becoming common in the street art movement?
Above all, there would be no graffiti wall created if it didn’t exist a surface where to paint. Thus it’s important to count with enough facades where to develop the festival. At times, commissioned artworks require a certain number of walls and the rest belong to open calls. This last term refers to artists submitting their artworks for inclusion.e
Human resources observed in a graffiti festival
For instance, Victoria Ríos, Sergio Sancho, Guillermo de la Madrid, Fernando Francés, Óscar Sanz and Fer Alcalá are some of the most renowned members of the Spanish urban art panorama. Each of them develops a specific role at the respective organizations. Their hard work and knowledge in the topic makes them the perfect staff.
What are their main tasks?
- Firstly, curating the festivals’ artists & galleries
- Secondly, sending press releases to inform about the event
- Later, photographing & filming the artworks
- Lastly, web designing & social media interacting
We can also observe governing bodies and city council representatives involved in the process. They approve permissions and grant artists the opportunity to decorate and embellish the streets of cities across Spain.
What’s the best street art and graffiti festival in Spain?
Despite the fact that Covid-19 has changed the plans of the majority of organizers, the events have been successfully achieved. Some of them distributed the facades around the city and others even organized guided visits for reduced groups of people. Which graffiti festival would you include in the list of the best 5?
Asalto Festival
Zaragoza is well known because of 12th October celebrations and El Pilar Cathedral. Furthermore, alternative travelers may now focus their urban exploration in finding the most colorful murals in town. They spread all around the city and walls act as an open air canvas for an unfinished museum & graffiti festival.
In addition, the event has culturally engaged the local communities and visitors’ involvement. 2020 edition will take place next 16th-27th September. This is the list of artists who will participate at the XV celebration of public street art in Zaragoza:
- Akacorleone,
- Diego Vicente,
- Elbi Elem,
- Isaac Cordal,
- Karto Gimeno,
- Lidia Cao,
- Marta Lapeña,
- Slim Safont.
Desordes creativas (A Coruña)
Firstly, this graffiti festival acts as an urban landscape regenerator, a critical thinking tool and a social dialogue opportunity. Likewise, abandoned warehouses and buildings turn into colorful spots for the collective joy. Isn’t that a great advertising opportunity for Ordes, the city where it takes place?
Desordes festival took place between 3rd and 20th August 2020. It was a free admission event and as a result it stands as a powerful tool for the cities’ redecoration. It is curated by Mutante creativo and it counts with the region’s sponsorship.
- Maz (Galicia)
- Cinta Vidal (Cataluña)
- Reskate (Euskadi / Cataluña)
- Manolo Mesa (Andalucía)
- Mou (Galicia)
Gargar graffiti festival at Penelles (Lleida)
Not only you’ll find a graffiti festival in a city like Madrid or Barcelona, but also in countryside villages/towns across Spain. As you may realize, street art is used to give visibility to the area, as well as the artists who participate in it. In this case, they try to support Catalan born and raised artists.
The 5th edition will pay tribute to graffiti legends and pioneers. It is thanks to their effort that the urban community started during the 70s and 80s. It evolved to what is now considered street art and post-graffiti. These are the artists included at this year’s celebration:
- Berni Puig
- David L
- Jay Bisual
- Leo Villoro
- Musa71
- Slim Safont
- Txus Montejano
- Zabou
- Zach Oreo
- Zeso WF
Other details to take into account for a graffiti festival development
There exists other important aspects that the general audience should also have in mind. We already mentioned how the graffiti festival management takes care of materials and human resources, but there are other elements that you should know within any organization.
Sponsors
Most street art events take place thanks to third party vendors who economically contribute to the graffiti festival development. These advertisers pay money in return for promoting their services or products. For instance, you will find beer brands and paint manufacturers’ boards displayed at the majority of them.
There are several facts that investors should take into account to effectively analyze their investment. Let’s see some of them.
- Benefits obtained,
- Targeted demographics,
- Mission & goals,
- Return of investment.
Related activities at a graffiti festival
On the other hand, there could exist several experiences organized during a graffiti festival. For instance, street art tours and guided visits.
Participating in a walking tour could not only offer you the opportunity to observe the city differently, but also provide you with close facts about the artists and festival itself. Tour leaders usually ask many questions to see what the group’s knowledge and what do they think about graffiti and street art.
Could you tell us what are the differences that exist between those two artistic movements? Why do you say so? Support your answer with reasoning.
Cooltourspain opinion about graffiti festivals
We believe that it’s important to collaborate between online street art projects. Our expertise in SEO and digital marketing could benefit any graffiti festival in Spain. Have you ever thought about adding urban art workshops to the events’ experiences?
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