The first edition of Baluarte – Urban Art Exhibition makes Monte Pedral the largest open-air gallery with works designed for large structures, unusual circuits and dreams the size of a wall in a large barracks. From September 16th to October 1st – and exclusively at the weekend – there will also be programs for the whole family, conferences and lots of music to celebrate an art that, although urban, belongs to everyone.
Always seen as marginal art, outside the law, transgressive and offensive, the so-called “urban art” has always been used to demarcate territory and convey, directly and freely, a strong message of a social, political and cultural nature. It began with a manifesto for minorities with less power of expression, minorities that had little voice and little freedom to show their discontent, in cities with strong economic power and with ambivalent challenges ahead.
The universe of so-called “urban art” found its space in the city a few years ago. It left the odor of transgression to become an element that communicates with the place where it is installed, creating a perfect symbiosis between those who see it, those who are surprised and those who build it as a differentiating element in a city in constant mutation.
This transformation is due to all the work developed to demystify a negative concept inherent to street art and a different way for the public to also understand the breadth of this art, which can range from stenciling to illustration, from collage to painting.
After a set of initiatives developed, in recent years, in various locations in the city, contributing to a true Urban Art Program for the City of Porto, with works to be freely appreciated on various surfaces and locations, with due investment from the Porto City Council, Porto, it is now time to declare a great festival that will take place over three weekends in September and October.
Like a kind of stone bulwark, where the most recent creative work within this cultural area is protected and presented, in this project, which will take place over three weekends at the Monte Pedral Barracks and which brings together, in a single space, different approaches and visions, there will be an opportunity to follow and visit the new works created by artists Arisca, Costah, Dub, Facio, Godmess, Hazul, Mariana PTKS, Mr Dheo. MrKas, MURA, MynameisnotSEM, Oaktree, RA.SO.AL and Rafi die Erste.
During the three weekends there will be workshops, DJ Set's and conferences, in addition to many demonstrations of a reality that is increasingly present in our city. Curated by the Urban Art program of the city of Porto, this project promises to revolutionize the way we view and see art on a large scale.