Following Backlash, São Paulo Mayor to Hire Graffiti Artists and Pay for Paint

01/27/2017 - 16h40

After being criticized by street artists for painting over the city's graffiti, São Paulo mayor João Doria (Brazilian Social Democracy Party) announced on Thursday (the 26th) he will hire graffiti artists and pay for their paint as a part of an open-air museum project which will be spread across town.

The project, which is called The Street Art Museum (MAR - Museu de Arte de Rua), will be launched in the Baixo Augusta region - the city's downtown area - and will be reenacted in different parts of town every three months.

"I believe we will be able to contemplate several different street artists, since various parts of town will be used", said Doria.

The previous mayor, Fernando Haddad (Workers' Party), had already payed R$ 2000 (US$ 630) to 450 graffiti artists who painted the walls along 23 de Maio Avenue.

Doria, who officially became mayor at the beginning of the month, painted over the murals this past week, claiming the they had been defaced.

The mayor decided to anticipate the project encouraging street art in order to respond to criticism for painting the city walls gray.

The project - which is set to debut in March - will feature around 150 artists and will cost around R$ 800 thousand (US$ 250 thousand).

André Sturm, the city's Secretary of Culture, stated that a committee will be formed in order to select the artists that will participate.

They will have to send résumés along with an artistic statement, but will not have to disclose what they intend to paint. The art will be displayed on walls of public spaces as well as private ones - although proprietors have to give their consent in the latter case.

The mayor is considering the possibility of displaying the art for two years before replacing it with new art.

	Diego Padgurschi/Folhapress
	Graffiti in the Cambuci neighborhood, in Sao Paulo

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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