The artsy city of Valparaiso, Chile has definitely earned its status as a UNESCO World Heritage site. After all, what other small town boasts the opportunity to literally stumble upon artworks by major international artists on your morning stroll to Spanish class?
While Valparaiso is full of public art, it bears no similarity to the all-too-familiar historic statues and bland modernist shapes that adorn your average city. Valparaiso’s public art takes the form of graffiti and mosaics, and it owes its freshness to the fact that there is almost zero bureaucracy involved in creating and installing this art. Unlike in other cities, where artists need permits and permissions from various local organizations, in Valparaiso painting a graffiti mural is often as simple as asking the property owner’s permission.
One graffiti artist to look out for while you’re studying Spanish in Valparaiso is Inti. This native Chilean has painted gigantic murals in cities from Paris to Lodz, Poland, and was recently featured in a major exhibition. His murals drawn their symbolic lexicon from Chile’s indigenous heritage and contain many small details that tie back to indigenous culture. Next time you’re in Valpo, seek out an Inti mural and see how many symbols you can interpret!
Read more about Inti and his artistic philosophy here