Art of Transforming a Mexican Shantytown's Houses Straits Times
go to original April 6, 2017

A Mexican artists' collective painted a giant mural across Palmitas (Agence France-Presse)

Palmitas, a hardscrabble neighborhood in the Mexican city of Pachuca, used to have a reputation as a battleground where gangs fought deadly turf wars. But recently, it has gained a far more welcome kind of attention, reported Agence France-Presse.

A Mexican artists' collective called German Crew has painted a giant mural across the shantytown's houses, working with residents to transform their crumbling walls into a vibrant work of art.



More than 450 families and nearly 2,000 people have seen their homes transformed into the art piece named El Macro Mural Barrio de Palmitas, said artnet News.

The initiative, promoted by the Crime Prevention Secretariat, seeks to motivate young people from communities under pressure of violence to participate and paint murals in their communities.

The artists repainted some 20,000 sq m of grey walls across more than 200 houses to create what the city government bills as the largest mural in Mexico.

Read the rest at Straits Times

Related: Dozens of Artists to Decorate Akumal Streets (The Yucatan Times)

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