muralismo @ dublin- festival of world cultures

The “Muralismo” Project began in 1988 in Estelí Nicaragua, coming from sandinistas rising, walls are used for murals. "mayfield" in cork hooked up with them and togethr they made a massive mural during the 4th world culture festival in dublin

realities and then to ask how these realities could be changed and transformed. Muralismo run workshops which try to restore young people’s self-esteem but also help them to look at the society in which they live and to imagine what they want for their futures. Most of the children come form the barrios (shanty towns) of Estelí and include a number of street children, child labourers and disabled children. The issues and beliefs of the children of Estelí are now to be seen all over the walls of the town. The murals depict the dreams of a new Nicaragua as well as being a living testimony to the development and growth of the children.

Over the Festival of world cultures this weekend Park Road, alongside the People's Park, will transform from a tranquil residential thoroughfare to a dazzling multi-coloured street-mural project created by a group of young Nicaraguan mural-painters, a collective called FURNATE. Deriving its theme from local community groups, the Muralismo team will paint an impressive mural stretching the length of the road . This exciting and colourful project is a joint venture between the Festival of World Cultures, Mayfield Community Arts Centre in Cork and their South American partners FURNATE, who will travel from Nicaragua for this event.

Murals play an important role in the life of Nicaragua. There are a number of reasons for this but many are to be found in the violent history that the country has suffered over the past 30 years. Murals first became a strong element of life in parts of Nicaragua in 1987. They were linked to the Sandinistas and were initially painted by people as political statements from a community that had been racked by poverty and violence

4 nicuraquans travelled over to ireland and about 30 people came up from cork to dublin for this special event. they painted a 40foot mural on panels which were demouned and taken back to cork where they will be hung in bodegas pub untill a more permanent home can be found for the mural

"all different, all equal was the theme"
there was a lot of colour, a lot of hugging, crying, laughing, final goodbyes.
the team have been working for 3 weeks on this, consensus is reached between the group, no ones ideas are rejected, the children have to work out what they want to say through the medium of the mural

this project is leading into a bigger one with cork being 2005`s city of culture
http://www.mayfieldarts.org/

i am very sorry i got out so late- i hope the specialness of this process comes through in the short interview and i hope that more of this muralismo appears all over the world