the street is our gallery

Antwerp has got a new wall by Vertigo Graffiti. The Colombian embassy invited the renowed art colletive from Bogota to Merksem, a district in Antwerp to paint a giant mural. Tim Jentsch went to check it out.

Picture by Tim Jentsch

A shared glance is a unique graffiti project connecting Columbia with Belgium and vice versa.

picture by Frederik Beyens

A Shared Glance

During 8 days, 4 street artists from Colombia visited the district of Merksem (Antwerp) in order to execute an artistic mural. This 150m² artwork represents the image of an old man and a little kid looking at a blue sky framed by a window. The objective of the message is to underline the importance of dialogue between different generations.

“We’re convinced that the older and the younger generation need to keep dialogue open to create a better future sharing wisdom and youth full enthusiasm.” says Camilo Lopez, driving force behind the Vertigo Collective. “Although we don’t like to give an official meaning to the artwork, that’s up to people who happen to pass by”

Vertigo Graffiti Collective

This crew of Colombian artists celebrate their 10th anniversary this year and have been painting several big walls in the most important cities of Colombia.

One of their most prolific murals is ‘el beso de los invisibles’, the invisible kiss, portraiying an atypical love giving voice to people who feel invisible in our cities.

The four artists working on this wall were Cazdos, Zas, Ecks and Yurika.

Promotion

This international collaboration was part of a promotion plan to show the world the true nature of Colombians. On so many occasions Colombia is named in one breath with Pablo Escobar, Narcos and drugs, but there’ s so much more.

That’s what this artwork provides, a positive message, profiling Colombians as creators. And through art Colombia strenghtens it’s ties with Belgium in this unique cultural project. Never before has graffiti been part of a diplomatic mission.

Antwerp

Why Antwerp, since the embassy has it’s HQ in Brussels. The ambassador and his team wanted to show the world that Belgium is more then Brussels. And since the streetart scene in Antwerp is so thriving thanks to many new projects and Street Art Antwerp, more and more people visit the diamond city to discover this hidden artworld.

‘With Street Art Antwerp my mission is to show the world that Antwerp is a street art city, and promote our talented local artists. Our small country is boasted with talent like Roa, Locatelli, Smates, Dzia, Joachim and many others.” Tim Marschang.

Another logic connection with Tim of Street Art Antwerp is the international project he co-founded, namely Street Art Cities. A global streetart community which joins locals from all over the world granting access to their platform. And off course cities like Bogota and Medellin are already very active on that platform (www.streetartcities.com)

Tim Marschang was the local connection in Antwerp who organised the A Shared Glance Project. He got the necessary permission and organised the lift, paint and materials.

‘The thing I’m gonna remember most about this project is the gratitude and warmth this Colombian crew brought with them. I’ve never seen artists connecting with fellow countrymen that easy. I found out that a another Colombian artist lives in my district and they connected really fast.’ Tim Marschang.

As of now people can discover this fresh artwork at the library “‘t Park” in Merksem.

The exact location can be found here or by downloading the free Street Art Cities app and consequently choosing Antwerp.

Post researched and compilled by Tim Jentsch – ISSA CREW 

https://www.streetartantwerp.com/

https://www.streetartcities.com/

https://www.instagram.com/vertigograffiti