Street Art Tour: new large mural begins to be painted in downtown Florianópolis

The initiative will have a plural agenda in 2020, with the painting of new murals, guided tours and digital technologies to promote more interaction with the public.

A new large mural will color the landscape of the most vertical region of downtown Florianópolis. Natureza do Desterro, work of the artist Rodrigo Rizo, began to be painted on Wednesday night on the side of the Hotel Zip, located at the top of Rua Felipe Schmidt, nº 554: a wall measuring 420 square meters. The action is an initiative of the Street Art Tour, a movement that started in 2019 with the purpose of promoting the urban art scene in the Capital. For this year, a series of activities with different artists and various styles of mural painting are planned, in addition to guided tours for the population — in virtual and in person versions, when possible —, an augmented reality project and new features in the application.

The painting Natureza do Desterro was scheduled to be inaugurated on the anniversary of Florianópolis, in March of this year. The beginning of the social distancing decrees, so necessary to minimize the pandemic of the new coronavirus, coincided with the date that the painting and all the Street Art Tour would start.

— After 50 days at home, some activities were released, including mural painting. A lot has happened since the beginning of the pandemic, things that made me reflect on everything, especially about my work and my role as an artist in this process - says Rodrigo Rizo.

The top of Felipe Schmidt, the place chosen for the action, dialogues with the conceptual proposal of the panel. It will be a breath of color and a way to soften the visual impact of concrete. It is expected to be ready by the beginning of July.

Mural is an invitation to reflect on the city in a post-pandemic world

Rodrigo Rizo is the author of Cine Negro, a mural in honor of the poet Cruz e Sousa inaugurated last year on the wall next to the Santa Catarina Historical Museum – Palácio Cruz e Sousa. He is also known for the chameleons painted in different streets of the Capital. This time, the artist will work with a concept linked to his recent research.

The first proposal for Natureza do Desterro was a critical reflection on the environmental situation in Florianópolis. During the quarantine, the artist reevaluated the approach and decided to bring a lighter and more inspiring vision to the project. Conceptually, the work starts from a female personality that represents an ancestral spirit of nature and emerges from the surface of the water, like an island. It is surrounded by life, with illustrations of species of fauna and flora present in the city. The idea is that people can identify with the landscape, that they have a sense of belonging and, more than that, pay attention to the need to preserve the place where they live.

—I have been using realistic references to human and animal figures to compose allegorical scenes that evoke a deeper and less literal meaning. I believe that, in this way, people will connect with the theme through contemplation, not through confrontation. In this new work, I seek to renew hopes that one day we will live again in a world that is more connected and in balance with nature and all forms of life — says the artist.

For him, art is fundamental in all social processes, mainly because creativity feeds on reality and then transforms it and helps to digest what is indigestible. With street art it is no different:

— It is impossible to pass inert to everything that is happening. The pandemic in itself is already terrible, it brings to light the ills arising from a structurally racist, unfair and unequal capitalist system. Faced with so much instability, concerns arise mainly with regard to the future. We are facing a virus created by nature and she, nature, is very efficient in dealing with human influence on ecosystems. We have to re-establish the link that was broken, connect and understand ourselves as an important part of nature. That's what I propose in this new mural.

Street Art Tour will promote virtual tour and launch new app for the second semester

In 2020 the Street Art Tour consolidates itself as an important movement for the urban art of the Capital and bets on the power of the collective, as an invitation to artists and the population itself to occupy the city and live with more art. In this sense, this year, medium-sized murals are planned, as well as actions that discuss the role of urban art.

The pandemic and social distancing reorganized the agenda, but motivated connection activities through the virtual dimension. The itineraries guided by the urban art of the Capital, a partnership with journalist Rodrigo Stüpp, from Guia Manezinho, will now have an online version instead of the previously planned group walks. On the Live Tour, it will be possible to take a tour with the Manezinho Guide live. Just connect to the Street Art Tour channels. The agenda will be released shortly.

— Our purpose is to promote and promote art and artists. That's why we mix and direct our activities with actions proposed by the project, but also by artists, institutions or social causes that are relevant to society in general — say cultural producers Marina Tavares and Arturo Valle Junior, from Studio de Ideias, idealizers of the movement alongside the artist Rodrigo Rizo.

And since technology has been an ally in this time of isolation, for the second semester the Street Art Tour will launch the new version of the application (available for Android and iOS). With improvements, updates and new features, the app will give each user the option to create their own route on the map, among other news.

Also for the next semester, the second stage of painting the mural in honor of Franklin Cascaes, by the artist Thiago Valdi, is planned. The panel, located in the Center of the Capital, will have the implementation of interaction technology and augmented reality.

Another action promoted by the SAT and already started in May is the photographic and audiovisual record of the paintings on the wall of the pedestrian walkway of the Pedro Ivo Campos Bridge. The place will undergo renovations and it will not be possible to preserve the artistic manifestations that are there and that are part of the urban art history of the Capital. All this material will be cataloged and must be formatted for audiovisual, digital or printed products.

Fun facts about the new wall

• To carry out the painting, the artist will use two lifting platforms installed on top of the building, each five meters long.
• The sketch skeleton is first projected onto the wall so that the first strokes can be drawn.
• The filling of larger areas is done with acrylic paint, roller and brush.
• The details with highlights, shadows and contours are done with the spray.
• Rizo will have the support of two artists as assistants: Tuane Ferreira and Rodrigo “Pasmo”
• Three weeks of work are planned.
• The mural is 10 meters wide by 33,5 meters high. The Street Art Tour is sponsored by the municipality of Florianópolis and the Fundação Cultural de Florianópolis Franklin Cascaes through the Municipal Cultural Incentive Law nº 3659/91. The project has the cultural support of Angeloni Supermercados, Corporate Park, Fiori Empreendimentos and Hotel Zip. Support from Anjo Tintas and Ondrepsb. The general coordination is by the Ideas Studio.

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Publication: William Schütz
Contact by email: redacao.willianschutz@gmail.com
Source: Alecrim Content.

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