Page 164 - AC-3-2

Arts & Communication Urban expressions festival: The resignification

In 2016, the interventions were directed to the spaces of spaces, in neighborhoods. Twelve artists participated in
the Cuauhtémoc station of lines 1 and 2 of the Monterrey the latter: Gibrán Turón, Eder Salas, ECKS, Andy Graves,
Metro, seeking once again to position themselves in the DMON, Ácaro, El Pura, Maga, Vale Valencia, Tercer
so-called “no place,” a term introduced by Marc Augé Mundo, María Conejo, and Asero Rodríguez. All these
(1992), that is, in those spaces of transit, which do not have interventions were of medium format. This year, the Metro
history, identity, where human relations tend to become was adorned with medium- and large-format works. Of
colder, standing out, at all times, in anonymity; in these medium format, the walls of Adans Sánchez, Fando Criez,
spaces of the Metro, each visitor conceives it as the passage Greometry, Marcos Ríos, Anahid Hernández, Guillenart,
or the journey to their destination, whose route sometimes Rocío Darynée, Belinda Salasar, and Tatería stand out, and
becomes their daily routine; therefore, the relationship the large-format walls were in charge by Chanate Cruz,
with space and time is very different from what happened Beo Hake and in collaboration were Dario Diario/Vicent
in the neighborhoods of the city. Mutant, plus Nirvana and Naval.
Alfonso Reyes, director of operations of Metrorrey, The results in these years of intervention in the public
declared to the press that the Metro has a daily influx of space were evident, where the practice of intervention and
530,000 people. It is important to mention that some of the discourses that emerge in the space managed to have
10
the intervened walls can be seen by passersby and motorists a significant impact on everyone who observes it. Since
since the mural work also covers the exterior walls of the those gray spaces gained in color and figures, his designs
Metro. Sixty-two urban and collective artists were the captivated the gaze of the traveler and passersby. The risk of
protagonists of such work. this reflection is, of course, a celebratory contemplation of

In 2020 and 2021, despite the public health emergency these murals, which gained popularity given the diffusion
due to COVID-19, the festival’s advisory council decided to of the festival in the media, who could not avoid covering
continue with the activities that characterize Callegenera, it, thus allowing the creation of a note as a reference to
what would be present or learned during the time that
interventions on walls in public spaces; and the conferences, Callegenera lasted. Without going into details, in some
talks, discussion tables took over the networks to promote way, these interventions contribute to stimulating the sense
all that discourse, reaching very distant contexts.
of belonging, reinforcing the identity of the neighborhood,
The year 2020 was very significant because Callegenera and beautifying the spaces; thus, understood in this way,
celebrated its first 10 years, participated by 13 artists: Al Sahir, it is assumed that a feature to be highlighted in the city
Buffon, Chamula Cruz, Chanate, Gser Cruz, Guire, Narval, revitalization projects, in any sense (social, cultural,
Nirvana, Libre HEM, Vera Primavera, Anahid Hernández, economic, and urban), is to be decentralized, participatory
Drain VRS, and Sanezcrak who left their works in the streets and aimed at promoting social dialog.
of the city. The works were largely medium format, except Regardless of the fact that the interventions in these
for the Libre HEM’s mural, entitled “Perpetual nature of years took the city as the main stage in parallel, other
change,” worked in acrylic, where the author shows a group dynamics of the festival were carried out such as discussion
of migrants at night, with blankets, jackets, hats, warming up tables, talks, workshops, conferences, and cinematographic
with bonfires, people who seek to reach the border between exhibitions, which coexist as a space of discursive
Mexico and the United States and fulfill the long-awaited construction, seeking to think about the conceptual and
American dream when crossing the border.
visual dilemmas of urban expressions; and the skateboard,
But they will try to cross a geographical, physical, but break dance, and bicycle competitions were viewed as a
not artistic border, since urban art serves as a denunciation cultural space. These activities had various stages such as
of the social phenomenon, both on the one side and on the the Nave Generadores, the Center for the Arts, the House
other side, as the Malaysian artist Snaketwo also reveals of Culture of Nuevo León, and the Civil College Centro
in his painting “Migration,” which contains a motley of Cultural Universitario.
electronic elements in bright colors and with a pictorial
comic treatment, denoting the bewilderment of the various 5. Focusing attention on street artists and
human beings who migrate because they seek a better life, graffiti writers
which was exhibited at the Kuala Lumpur National Art Artistic production and writing invade, little by little,
Gallery within “The Wall: Dinding Bandar Art Exhibition” the city. “Powerful” images have become interfaces that
in January 2019. 9
stimulate reflection or simply please or shock, images that
In 2021, interventions occupy two important spaces: in some ways are also part of life, of everyday life, that could
one is line 3 of the Monterrey Metro and the other is public go unnoticed, but really there is always an interaction, no

Volume 3 Issue 2 (2025) 5 doi: 10.36922/ac.2864