As the closing for our OPEN HOUSE, join us for a screening of CIDADE CINZA (GREY CITY), curated by 2023 ONE WALL MOVEMENT Muralist N. Carlos J. Following the screening will be a Q&A session with N. Carlos J. and 2022 ONE WALL MOVEMENT Muralist Mattaya Fitts. ONE WALL MOVEMENT is a public art initiative that commissions muralists, graffiti artists, writers, and street artists to create a large-scale mural.
About CIDADE CINZA
On the streets of São Paulo, Brazil, a new form of graffiti was born. Like wildfire, the works of artists such as Os Gêmeos, Nunca, and Nina spread through the streets of the city and then to art galleries and museums around the world.
Nevertheless, City Hall implemented the Clean City Law in an effort to “combat visual pollution,” hiring a small team to paint over graffiti deemed aesthetically unpleasing. When a large-scale mural was painted over, the artists unleashed a graffiti war against the local government, giving birth to one of the most creative resistance movements in Latin American art. Together, the artists worked to recreate lost artwork in an act that embodied the tensions within the city over who decides which pieces are art and which pieces get painted over.
Grey City is not only a documentary about graffiti artists and their work but also a film about the city and streets of São Paulo, which are simultaneously a battlefield and a confluence point—with graffiti serving as the voice of the populace.
Under the Stars is taking place as part of Fall 2023 OPEN HOUSE. Kicking off in September 2023, OPEN HOUSE will begin with a Block Party featuring a Live Acoustic Electric DJ set by CRITICAL BREAKS Alum Zane Rodulfo, followed by a Work in Process of BRICKS by Charlene Jean, OPEN HOUSE will feature local vendors and artists and serve as a community gathering and celebration. In the weeks that follow, we will engage our community with dance, music, and much more! All of this will take place from our home at El Barrio’s Artspace PS109 in East Harlem!