Photo Essay

Art Everywhere

22 Comments

On my first walk in my new neighborhood two weeks ago, as I turned a nearby corner, I was greeted by a welcoming message imbedded in tiles on the exterior wall of a private home. I took it as a sign. “Welcome to the Guadalupe neighborhood,” the message reads. “Here there is art in all its streets”:

A depiction (in tile) of Colleen Sorenson’s welcome to the neighborhood

Now that I’m settled into my new studio apartment on the other side of town in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, my daily walks have taken me in new directions and opened my eyes to new ways of seeing. Art, I believe, does this for us; it makes us see things differently. It aids in adaptation.

I had, as most of my regular WOW readers know, loved my previous place, my cozy little old “penthouse” and its close proximity to lush Parque Benito Juarez, where I basked in the beauty of verdant nature every day. That has proved to be too long a daily walk in May’s afternoon heat from my new address, so I’ve had to discover new perambulatory joys.

And there are plenty to be found in Colonia Guadalupe, which is known as San Miguel’s “art district.”  Here are just a few of the wall murals I’ve discovered so far on my new neighborhood’s streets:

On my walk to the new, closer-to-my-new-home Parque Zefferino, I discovered more whimsical art:

Most pedestrians walk past this little “elf house” at the base of a tree without noticing it
This cat, painted behind bars, appears desperate to be let out of lockdown

And returning from Zefferino park, on Calle Julian Carrillo, I noticed that the door to Lena Bartula’s “La Huipilista Artspace” was partway open (not open-for-business, I learned, since all art galleries have had to close due to COVID-19, but open for a much-needed cross-breeze in this May heat). I stepped inside.

Suitably masked and socially distanced, Lena gave me a private viewing of her latest installation, including a collection of dramatic, oversized face masks she’s making (“in my isolation,” she told me) from ethnic fabrics she’s collected from around the world.

“As momentos of the coronavirus?” I asked her.

“Yes, the way it’s connecting all of us,” she said.

This one was my favorite:

On another walk, in another direction, I saw more evidence of the coronavirus in (or, I should say, on) art:

A statue of Carmen Masip Echazarreta, wearing a face mask, in front of the (now closed) Bellas Artes

One day soon, all of us everywhere hope, we’ll be able to laugh at such artistic antics.

~ ~ ~

For information about the murals of Colonia Guadalupe, please contact Colleen Sorenson, founder of Muros en Blanco Distrito de Arte, at StreetArtSMAgto@gmail.com or StreetArtSMA & Colleen Sorenson on Facebook or through her website: www.murosenblanco.com . And for more about artist Lena Bartula’s work, go to: www.lenabartula.com .

22 thoughts on “Art Everywhere”

  2. Lovely and welcome to the neighborhood Bonnie! You are guaranteed to love it. During this time, many of us are inside working on our art. I’ve been busy working on mosaic-tiled graffiti art with the local street artists. Watch soon for an “on the street” showing in colonia Guadalupe of collaborations with 4 different artists. The Muros en Blanco website is due to be re-constructed so I can always be contacted at –
    StreetArtSMAgto@gmail.com or StreetArtSMA & Colleen Sorenson on Facebook.

    Reply

  3. thank you for this piece, I walk all over San Miguel but these seem to be new mural. I would love to finish my little mural in Colonia Lindavista. It is small but leaves room for more monarchs.

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    1. Thank you, dear Kim, for sharing your blog post about the murals that were painted over. I’d heard that there had been more murals in Col. Guadalupe, but I felt I couldn’t dig deeper into that history in this first-impressions post. Now we all can know! — Besos back to you, BB xx

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  7. Steve and I have always loved this neighborhood. Great walking with something new and beautiful around every corner! Enjoyed seeing your photos…

    Reply

  9. Dear Bon,

    You new neighborhood looks wonderful! I sense that you will be happy there. You’ve already made a new friend! I think the message of your post is one we all must recognize in order to survive: Art equals healing.

    Much love,
    Paul

    Reply

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