Neighbors (2018) · Itinerario muralístico de Vitoria-Gasteiz

You are in: home › Murals › Vitoria-Gasteiz » Neighbors (2018)

Facts · Description · Participants - Videos· Gallery · Comments · Map

NEIGHBORS

Facts

Description

The concept of vecinas is disappearing, and this mural reclaims it.
A vecino or vecina — from the Latin vicinus, derived from vicus: neighbourhood, place — is a person who lives close to another, whose houses are adjacent, or who, more broadly, share a neighbourhood. Although today the term is determined by geographical proximity, in the past it had more specific uses. Here we give it a warmer sense: a synonym of shared experience, of the energy of a place, of a moment and of shared circumstances. An example of coexistence between people who are willing and open, collaborating toward a common goal. That is what the mural seeks to convey, and in some way it is also its claim: an example of affection, dignity, and positivity.
In Maruja and Joaquina, who preside over the mural alongside the little dog Kitty, we find ALL THE VECINAS: those who appear in it, those who painted it, and those who supported it throughout. A mural of the neighbourhood, for the neighbourhood, and above all of its women.
The mural is filled with symbols and icons of Ariznabarra: the architecture of its first houses, the swimming pool that once occupied the same square that now hosts the mural, the vegetable gardens that surrounded the neighbourhood, its birth as a pirate and unauthorised neighbourhood and its residents' difficult path to regularise the situation, its strong footballing roots and Club Deportivo Ariznabarra itself…
The participants in the design sessions, after carrying out research and participation exercises, described the place as a small town. Hence the search for an everyday scene: two elderly people seated on a bench, who during the painting were joined by Kitty, the little dog of the Residents' Association president who lent her façade. Matías included her as a gesture of thanks to those neighbours who threw themselves into the project alongside him and the workshop participants — pushing, facilitating, and providing food, smiles, and encouragement to the whole team.
 

Participants:

Volunteers

Videos

The project was documented trough a series of videos:
Mensaje de Sabotaje al Montaje
Diseñando
Destapando "Vecinas"