The Barcelona Tours team really are a visual lot. We love the sight of a perfectly themed venue and we love to watch the heat and passion of a good flamenco show. We relish the sights of the city on our bike tours, and we never fail to be wowed by the sun rise over the catalan mountains from our hot air balloon rides. But most of all we love the sight of satisfied clients having a fantastic time.
We love being part of such an aesthetically stimulating city and are forever in awe of all the constant visual stimuli that surrounds us. One aesthetic element of Barcelona that is hard to miss is the street art that adorns doorways, facades and most typically steel shutters. This is such a inescapably huge part of Barcelona’s visual identity that some shop owners even hire professional graffiti artists to decorate their roll-shutters before anyone else has the chance to.
Graffiti is one of the most democratic yet politically diverse art forms in the world so it is no wonder that in a city brimming with politically active people that the streets should reflect Barcelona’s status as one of the most revered and influential street art cities in the world.
Currently battling for pole position in the world of street art is New York where the infamously anonymous Banksy set up an exhibition of original pieces, selling them for just $60. His ‘experiment’ was a resounding success as he sat by, without so much as a glance from passers by and raked in a mere $420 for the 8 paintings (which had a total worth of $225,000) that were sold. Not wanting to make the same mistake and miss an opportunity we jumped at the chance to check out ‘Festival de Muralismo de La Escocesa’ bringing together some of the top graffiti artists in the world, to fill the walls of the former industrial complex.
The labyrinth of derelict factories and warehouses in the area makes the location of ‘La Escocesa’ every street artists dream canvas. It has a gritty almost neglected feel to it, so it’s an interesting contrast to the cosmopolitan city centre a mere few miles away. We were blown away by the diversity of the art on show and the incredible talent of the artists.
Looking for a Team Building Activity?
Try our Graffiti Art Collective! Create your own masterpiece with your colleagues.