Aristides Ureña Ramos - Mural artist from Italy/Panama

Read our interview with mural artist Aristides Ureña Ramos from Florence, Italy. He realizes murals in Panama on a regular basis and told us about his work, oscillating between Italy and Panama. You can find more about his art on the following website: proudelas.blogspot.com



How come that you`re into StreetArt?
>> I think it was very easy for me, as I am a multi-disciplinary artist and therefore it was a logical and direct consequence.

Describe your own style in a few words.
>> I consider myself as a manipulator of habits. I intend to melt styles and to create a potpourri of “attempts” which help me to bring out my ideas. That is why I step out of the stylistic problematic and concentrate all my energy on the finishing of my projects.

What is your perception of the street art- scene in the city where you`re living?
>> I live in Florence, Italy and I’m also spending much time in Santiago de Veraguas, Panama. These are two completely different realities, but full of contradictions that stimulate me to adapt the culture of beauty of my hometown and realize it also on other places. Right now, I am working a big mural piece which is going to beautify the city.

Are there artists who had (or still have) influence on your art?
>> For sure! The renaissance frescos of Florence – not only the most famous ones, I’m also very inspired by the 15th century murals done by unknown artists. They knew very well how to adorn ambiances. And, of course, renaissance painters Andrea del Sarto and Domenico Ghirlandaio.

What meaning does (urban) art have for you?
>> I think that projecting oneself into arts is about enjoying and delighting the public, which makes one to undergo the artistic experience as a great adventure. The point is that your creations are born and then evolve with their public. That’s a dialogue which puts our certainties to a hard test, resulting in the maturing – and many times changing – of our convictions. And I think that it is a good school of life.

Simer, graffiti artist from Nicaragua

Check out the interview with Simer, graffiti artist from Nicaragua, and see some of his pieces done at various locations in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. You'll find more on his blog: simelogik1

How come that you`re into street art?
>> I started to do street art because I was bored by conventional art and thought of creating new, more open alternatives in my life.

Describe your own style in a few words.
>> Wild mosaics.

What is your perception of the street art- scene in the city where you`re living?
>> Very good, there is much quality and many talents.

Are there artists who had (or still have) influence on your art?
>> In the past, when I started, I was influenced by my friends.

What meaning does urban art have for you?
>> Expressing as much as possible on the streets, considering that everybody can see it, no matter if rich or poor. It is there for all social classes.

Urban heartbeat artists will expose at Neurotitan Gallery in Berlin

In summer 2012, Urban Heartbeat will be presented at Neurotitan gallery in Berlin, Germany, as a multimedia exposition. The exposition will feature photo and video material of the events that took part in every country, as well as portraits of the involved artists and their work.

Click HERE and get a 3D-view of Neurotitan gallery.
(picture by neurotitan gallery, 06.04. - 10.04.2011,
Inkygoodness Character Totem Show & Ryan Quincy "THAT WAS THEN...THIS IS FOREVER")

Being a gallery and an art shop at the same time, central Berlin-located Neurotitan gallery is the hub for the activities of the association Schwarzenberg e.V. It has a very unique concept which reflects the artistic and cultural diversity of the German capital Berlin, and doesn’t submit to mainstream. Neurotitan mainly supports artists and musicians who are moving in between experiments, subculture and establishment and thereby offers them the opportunity to present their works to the public. Part of the concept of Neurotitan is its big network of international artists, who range between avant-garde and subculture, but generally are acting outside of the frontiers of the official art market. Neurotitan sees its main function and target in crossing this border, as long as it justifiable from an artistic point of view. Precondition is always the conceptual collaboration with the exhibiting artists.

The first exhibition at Neurotitan gallery took place in 1996. Until today, the 300 square meters have been used for approximately 80 expositions. Additionally, the gallery provides space for concerts, readings, performances and cooperation’s with various festivals.

We would like to thank Neurotitan gallery and the association Schwarzenberg e.V. for providing us with the opportunity to show the great street art talent that exists in our region in the facilities of one of the most renowned spaces for urban art in Berlin.

Interview with Cisco Merel, urban artist from Panama

Check out our interview with Francisco Merel from Panama. Many thanks to Cisco for answering our questions! To get to know more about him, visit his website: www.ciscomerel.com

How come that you're into Street Art?
>> In the mid Nineties, with the influence of skateboarding, everything started like a game. Bit by bit I got involved more seriously. I wanted to do paintings but the colors where very expensive. So I went to a Hardware store, bought some cans and started experimenting without having any limits set by an easel.




Please describe your own style in a few words.
>> I don‘t define myself with any particular style but my last works are more a mix between the abstract and the figurative with a lot of colors.

What is your perception of the Street Art - scene in the city where you're living?
>> The scene is very small, but I think the movement is increasing little by little. Now there are better paintings and information about what’s going on is spreading. There are no complaints anymore if people see you painting.

Are there artists who had (or still have) influence on your art?
>> Yes! More than artists, I would mention friends of mine that have marked my professional as well as my personal life. From Panama: Sumo; from Los Angeles: Demon Slayer; from California: Above; from New York: Ripo, from France: DaCruz; and from Rio de Janeiro: Ment, Bruno Big and MGA.

What meaning does Urban Art have for you?
>> Meeting people, sharing, travelling and discovering new places, to be able to transmit what I have inside me and to do every day what I like to do most: painting.

Paste-up street art from Trinidad and Caracas

Check out the paste-ups of Jennifer from Trinidad and our interview with her.

How come that you're into Street Art?
>> I have always been very interested in the urban scene. I grow up in a city and as an active pedestrian I am very much aware of the street dynamics where everything is quite fast and forever changing. One way to connect with this dynamics is becoming part of it and street art seems to me like a funny way to do it; it is a simple and effective way to establish a dialog between your ideas and the environment that brew them.

Please describe your own style in a few words.
>> My style is about telling a story, it is based on meaningful themes and daily characters. That's why I like to show expressions, faces and if possible moods. Therefore, stencils suite that pattern very well: I can walk with my camera one day down the road, spot a perfect gesture and turn it into something that I will like to be reminded of just by going around the block where I paint it.

What is your perception of the Street Art - scene in the city where you're living?
>> Well, I grow up in a very dense city (Caracas - Venezuela). The dynamics there differ greatly from the city where I am living at the moment (Port of Spain - Trinidad). Here, street art is becoming more noticeable now. When I placed my first tag here it felt like invading virgin territory, but little by little I get to see real nice pieces of work all over. And for some other reason I really enjoy it like that because they are not random sketches but like exclusive pieces that show great skills and creativity.

Are there artists who had (or still have) influence on your art?
>> If I have to mention one (as cliche as it might sound), I will say Banksy. However, just the act of walking down the streets is inspiring to me, the urban atmosphere is so rich from colors to textures to moods to words that all together are enough influence. However, if on top of that you come across stellar images or any kind of urban intervention with impeccable technique it doesn't matter who made it - to me it's about taking the artwork for what it is and learn from it.

What meaning does Urban Art have for you?
>> Urban art for me is the dialog the street dynamics are capable to establish with the citizens, for me urban art tells free awesome stories to whoever is open to listen to them.

Urban Heartbeat tour poster

Design by Jim Avignon

Holger Beier at Virada Cultural 2010 in São Paulo

German DJ Holger Beier will be part of "de mi barrio a tu barrio" - playing a DJ-set in every country and inviting local DJ's and bands to join in.

Holger gained fame as a producer for the "Mexican Institute of Sound" (Instituto Mexicano del Sonido) and from his work in Berlin and São Paulo. Check out the video of one of his gigs last year at Virada Cultural 2010 in São Paulo: The "Sacada Da Virada" featured Holger with a bunch of friends DJing, accompanied by video projections on one of the most spectacular places in the old center of São Paulo.



The Sound coming from the DJ Booth is split into various frequencies which are directly connected to the projections. Graphics and mappings are responding to the sound of the Beat.

The audience can play with interactive projections on the architecture by using their cellphones - spraypainting SMS Messages in form of PIXAÇOES displayed on a large Scale!

Pixação is a unique form of graffiti native to São Paulo. Basically, it's tagging done in a distinctive, cryptic style, mainly on walls and vacant buildings. Many pixação artists compete to paint in high and inaccessible places, using such techniques as free climbing and abseiling to reach the locations. Pixação has inspired and formed many Brazilian street artists, such as Os Gemeos.

More information on the project can be found on the website of bungalow agency:

Paste-up street art from Costa Rica

Check out the interview below with Jairo Miranda, paste-up-artist from Costa Rica.

How come that you're into Street Art?
>> Everything began like a valve for escape: like a form of personal expression, a visual outcry – but silent. I had to say something on the walls of San José. The first “paste up” I did in the city showed a cricket – an insect that usually makes a lot of noise and therefore catches attention. In these times (2004) you couldn`t see much “paste up” in Costa Rica. There was already a strong graffiti movement at the surroundings of the University of Costa Rica, in central San José and in various neighborhoods – but I still hadn`t seen street art as posters bonded on walls. Inspired by city, society and nature and with the access to technological tools (such as computer, printer, scanner, digital cameras and so on) I went on experimenting with digital images that then would become fragmented prints which I stuck on the walls of the city. I’m glad to see that other Costa Rican artists adopted this technique and made their own paste ups so that today it’s quite common to see all types of posters, photographs and designs stuck on the walls.

Please describe your own style in a few words.
>> I stick photographs and designs on the surfaces of the city. I digitalize small objects, insects, birds and extracts of newspapers and magazines. I take digital photos of places, things and persons. I then edit these photos with the help of edition software and finally print them on paper. Finally, the action of sticking it on a wall takes place at a spot that fits. Ephemerality is the concept of my work. I document both the process of setting up the art piece as well as its own erosion, caused by time and the forces of nature.

What is your perception of the Street Art - scene in the city where you're living?
>> There are many talented artists in Costa Rica – not only in the capital but also in the provinces. The problem is that there is much individualism: nothing unites the different disciplines and initiatives of street art as a strong movement of popular expression. There’s a lack of interest by the media, not much online visibility and missing support by local governments and sponsors. The situation is not all that bad, but could be way better. There are urban festivals in different parts of the country, melting music, dance, acrobatics, graffiti, paste up, and many more – some of them supported by the public sector, others by private companies. That type of art is very attractive for the youth because it offers them a way of saying something, of expressing themselves through art as a medium. It’s a very good way of creating a channel of communication with them.

Are there artists who had (or still have) influence on your art?
>> During childhood, my main source of inspiration was TV: observing that flow of images and sounds on the screen made me feel a fascination with picture that I still have today. I also remember the sculptures and paintings that illustrated an old bible of my family. Up to today, internet has a strong influence on my work. Prehistoric art with his cave murals, naïve art, renaissance, the impressionists, abstract expressionism, pop art, surrealism, Dalí, Pablo Picasso, Pollock, Warhol, Da Vinci, Rodin, Tapiez, Mondrian, Banksy. The Costa Rican artists Francisco Amiguetti and the sculptor José Sancho. Out of cinema: Fellini and Pedro Almodovar. Out of literature: Gabriel García Marquez, Ernesto Sabato and many others.

What meaning does Urban Art have for you?
>> Liberty! For me, that’s its purest meaning. Urban art is public, direct, deeply democratic, hyperactive and surprisingly versatile. It made disappear the historic barriers between art and its observer, opposing elite thinking. Urban art escapes from museums, curators and gallery owners. It’s a horizontal art that does not commercialize itself: it neither gets sold nor bought. It finishes up with the idea of art as a commercial luxury object, it is subversive by definition. Because of that, it originates a debate which invites dialogue, participation and reflection, thereby avoiding the aseptic monologue offered by museums and swanky exhibitions. By integrating its elements in highly-frequented public spaces, it surprises its observers. It usually has a striking, seductive message that criticizes society with irony and sarcasm, inviting class struggle, political criticism or simply reflection.

9 brushstrokes with Jim Avignon

"9 brushstrokes" is a series of interviews published by the art blog plaztikmag.com. Every interview gets on with 9 questions. Read below the answers of Jim Avignon.

Many thanks to plaztikmag!


1. What is your favorite material to work with?

Jim: found cardboard and people’s expectations

2. Will you die for love or a drink at 3 am?

Jim: Can’t I have both?

3. Who/ What/ Where is currently inspiring to you?

Jim: Entropy

4. What are your goals in the next year? Cash? Beauty? Greatness? Rent?

Jim: My goal is, that there is a next year

5. Why should we stare at your creations- instead of internet porn and LOL cats?

Jim: Because there is a sad and nice beauty in my creations that is hard to find somewhere else.

6. Who has been the most supportive in your career?

Jim: My friends and my little family. I need to get distracted from work once in a while and they know how to do it.

7. What Word or Image drives you insane?

Jim: I don’t like it when computers and programs start doing silly updates and you can’t stop them.

8. How will your tombstone read?

Jim: Ready to go nowhere.

9. Where or under what influences are you most creative?

Jim: I am best in trains, especially the ones that go from east to west

photo by Mimzy for Plaztik Mag, shot at Factory Fresh, New York.

Jim Avignon – The fastest painter in the world

Find out who is Jim Avignon, the artist coming to Central America and the Caribbean to paint murals together with local talents:

Jim Avignon is counted among the most unusual figures in contemporary German art. He lives and works in Berlin but he is constantly on the move and he has made his way as a self-taught artist outside the normal framework of Art Academies, Galeries and Museums.

Jim Avignon was either born in Munich in Tokyo or in Stockholm and grew up in an idyllic village in the Black Forest. If you are to believe the biographical notes in any of his exhibition catalogues he has worked as a baker, a school bus driver, as a seaman on a tanker or worked in a kindergarten in a suburb of Moscow. Jim Avignon is an artificial creation and the details of his life are as vague as they are changeable. But behind this creation there is a painter and a musician. According to appearances he is about 37 years old, short of stature, lives and works in Berlin but is constantly on the move, has painted thousands of pictures and has had fun creating a whirlwind in conventional art world. Jim Avignon is one of the few who have gone against the precepts of the art world by making his work available to ordinary people outside the formal art establishment and has found international recognition.

Any one on the move in Germany can’t help but encounter Jim Avignon’s work. They decorate the cover’s of Germany’s leading news magazine, as a tailplane design on the German branch of British Airways and they crop up in department stores and advertising boards as frequently as they do in exhibitions.

More than anywhere else Jim Avignon’s paintings are to be found in club functions and Techno parties and the new German music scene with which he has a strong association. He is a chronicler and commentator on this fast new life-style.

Speed is his central theme. He can finish 200 large format pictures within 3 weeks. In 2 nights he produced a work covering more than 500 square yards for Frankfurt University and he has created an animated series for German television. He has caused consternation among some gallery owners by starting work on pictures after the exhibition has been opened.

His first work was decoration for Techno ‘Raves’ in the 90’s and up to today there is hardly a party any week that he does not decorate.

Jim Avignon is also the leading representative of what is called the ‚Cheap Art‘ movement. He thinks that his work should just as much be in the possession of the ordinary man as in an exclusive gallery or museum. Any visitor to his Atelier can probably get a large format picture for a few hundred Euros even though his work brings high prices at auctions. To keep the price low he has to produce a lot.

The general public became aware of Jim Avignon during Documenta X in Kassel in 1992. Each day for 13 days, he painted a large format picture which, often with the help of the public, he destroyed at the day’s end. Art critics saw this as sheer provocation but were reluctant to say as much at one of Germany’s leading artistic events, Jim Avignon used absurd performances to level criticism at the art establishment for its dealing and speculation. He wanted to see his pictures on the walls of ordinary people whose interest in art was blocked by a policy of high prices and the ‘temple’ atmosphere of private galleries.

Despite the crazy tempo of his working life Jim Avignon cannot completely escape the involvement of the art establishment. Last year the London Academy of Fine Arts ran a seminar on his work, many journals devote space and interest in him and there are a growing number of people discovering his work through the Internet.

Naturally painting alone is not enough for him. As a musician he works under the name of Neoangin. His music, like his painting, is colourful and easy but on close listening one hears the dissonance and the irony, a bitter-sweet commentary on our modern world. He also publishes in book form a collection of many of the thousands of pictures he has painted in recent years.

Text: Goethe-Institut, 2004

Graffiti crew Chacuatol from Managua, Nicaragua

Chacuatol is a graffiti crew from Managua, Nicaragua. Check out their pieces and read the interview with one of its members, Eyekone:

How come that you're into Street Art?
>> At the beginning, Graffiti was a kind of juvenile agitation for me. The absence of alternatives for the expression of myself made me turn my attention towards the city's walls. In the year of 2001, there already existed a group of youths that experimented with graffiti. Viewing this painting technique (which I never saw before, at that time) fascinated me and I started to imitate these styles in the pictures I was drawing at art classes in school, without knowing that it would define my artistic output 10 years later. The transfer from paper to walls took part intuitively, and thanks to a group of friends of that time, I started to paint in the streets. Time passed by, and I gained better knowledge of techniques, as well as a broader conscience of the communicative power given by the opportunity of painting in an avenue, a neighborhood, a park or in any public space. I got to know other artists with the same feelings, and we decided to form the collective “chacuatol”, trying to improve the aesthetics of our works and to develop the messages towards the rest of the city.

Please describe your own style in a few words.
>> My style is graffiti, my tools are aerosol, latex paint, brushes and scrubbers. I think that every graffiti artists starts by imitating the traditional graffiti aesthetics, meaning typographic works and characters inspired by the Hip Hop culture. While experimenting with the technique, I started to involve other influences in my works, for example impressionism, pop art, pre-Columbian art, Japanese Anime, illustration for children and cubism. If “style” is considered as a philosophy, the word “chacuatol” would be a very good definition of my style. This Nicaraguan slang expression means something like “disordered mixture” and for me, this refers to the process of creativity, carried out by every person. I don't like purism or people that set orthodox limitations on artistic production. The style of every single person should emerge constantly and develop new ways of capturing the observer with an art piece.

What is your perception of the Street Art - scene in the city where you're living?
>> There are many initiatives that aim to continue using public spaces as a scenario. Thanks to the international tendencies, which lead to an elevated promotion of urban art, the interest of some contemporary artists has increased over the last years. There also exists a cultural youth movement supported by the government which re-activated the interest of the youth in murals. The graffiti scene is emerging: Two years ago, there weren't more than about 50 artists, today we are seeing a new generation of adolescents willing to learn and produce art, following the ideas set up by the more experienced graffiti artists. Each city has an enormous diversity of cultural expressions on the streets which can be experienced by walking the main avenues: clowns, jugglers, ambulant food booths and hand-written signs. This whole universe of cultural phenomena reminds me of how important it is for the citizens to be part of their living environment and to think of how this environment can be used to generate alternatives for dialogue between all.

Are there artists who had (or still have) influence on your art?
>> The list is enormous: Since my beginnings in the exploration of graffiti until today, there is Dorian Serpa, one of the founders of the graffiti movement in Nicaragua. My friends Crow, Rek, Keyoe, Dog, Draw, Mikas, Nito, Layzie, Some, Shok, who, in a way of friendly competition, inspired me towards ideas and opinions to improve my work. Then there are exceptional artists like Da Vinci, Picasso, Van Gogh who long time back explored and transcended ways of representing their realities. To be honest, I couldn't mention all persons that had an influence on me, because I think that creativity comes from all the things that stimulate me in an aesthetic way. I try to study the majority of artistic expressions to build my own view of the things that surround me.

What meaning does Urban Art have for you?
>> In my viewpoint, urban art is a very powerful tool. The very fact of being able to paint in a public space transforms this situation into a setting of dialogue between the audience, the site and the artist. It feeds itself by popular perception of aesthetics and the historic memory of a place. Through individual experience, it permits to seek analogies to the feelings and ideas of others. Done sincerely, urban art helps to force specific cultural characteristics of a city and strengthen the ability of contemplation within the everyday uproar.

More about Colectivo Chacuatol on their Facebook profile:

Holger Beier, DJ for the "Urban Heartbeat"-Tour

Holger Beier will accompany our Street Art Tour and meet musicians and DJ’s in the participating countries. He also works as a producer (among others for “Instituto Mexicano Del Sonido”) and is part of the electro-project Le Hammond Inferno:





Holger has been the head of the Berlin Pop label Bungalow Records for more than 15 years. Since its launch, Bungalow has sold 150 records, among others “Stereo Total”, “Le Hammond Inferno”, “Siriusmo Raumpatrouille Orion", as well as the international compilations “Sushi 3003” and “Sushi 4004”.

Today, Holger lives and works in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His agency Bungalow Agency is mainly working on cultural projects and cultural exchange between Europe and Latin America. During the past two years, he has collaborated several times with the Goethe-Institut in Sao Paulo, e.g. an art exhibition called Virada Cultural 2010 or a group exhibition Blinddate Berlin in October 2010. Holger Beier has left his mark in the cultural scene of Berlin and Sao Paulo in the past 15 years.