the street is our gallery

A new demonstration took place in the Parque de las Tres Chimeneas in Barcelona, on Sunday 21st February, with more than 40 artists, as meanwhile Pablo Hásel had been arrested. This time, no police officers and new fantastic murals.

It all started on February 7th, when people from the graffiti and fine arts world organized an event in the Parque de las Tres Chimeneas in Barcelona against the imminent entry into prison of Pablo Hasel, a rapper unjustly accused for some of his lyrics and other writings.

This action was totally legal and had all the necessary permits. Even so, early in the morning, police officers made their appearance to ask for identifications and explanations about our presence in the place and about the details of the activity.

About 15 artists participated in an event intending to drawg attention to the gravity of what is happening in Spain, a country with more than 40 years of democracy where, as of today, there are more people imprisoned or sentenced for expressing their ideas than anywhere else in the world (14 in 2019).

Participating Artists: (Roc Blackblock, Antón Seoane, El Rughi, Magia Trece, Doctor Toy, El Edu, Galleta María, Kader, Maga, Owen, Reskate, Chamo San, Sigrid Amores, Tres Voltes Rebel, Arte Porvo y Elna Or,, among others)

In less than 24 hours, the mural made by the artist Roc Blackblock was covered by cleaning workers from the City Council, accompanied by policemen. It was the only mural that was censored.

Since then, the Barcelona City Council has apologized, ensuring that the erasure of the work has not been ordered for any kind of political motivation and proposing to the artist to remake this piece, a fact yet to be determined. At the same time, an investigation has been opened from the consistory to clarify responsibilities and review certain protocols. To date, the identity of the authority responsible for covering the piece has not been made public.

Pictures: Fer Alcalá