Thanks to Adam Hall and his Cameo brand, dedicated to lighting, during ISE 2024 we had the opportunity to discover the graffiti of Poblenou in Barcelona, a former industrial district that has found new life thanks to the colours of street art
Graffitism, thanks also to the contribution of artists such as Keith Haring, has been recognised as Street Art in the last two decades, leaving the context of underground culture and spreading to the level of mass culture, so much so that it has become an instrument of urban regeneration and enhancement. This is what has happened in Barcelona’s Poblenou district: the scene in the early 20th century of industries of all sectors, since the 1960s the factories began to close, suddenly leaving huge spaces free, later converted into warehouses and workshops and, more recently, into lofts, art galleries and shops.
It was here that Adam Hall, and in particular his lighting brand Cameo, took us on a tour of Barcelona’s most beautiful and significant graffiti. Accompanied by Elisa Posteraro, Ext. Public Relations and Media Manager Adam Hall, together with 12 other journalists from the international press, we reached the Poblenou district. Under the guidance of Tatiana Quiroz-Marín, co-creator and muse of Tim Marsh (one of the most famous urban artists of the moment), we admired the amazing works executed by various street artists: the multicoloured parrots, tigers and foxes of Tim Marsh’s Poble Zoo, the geometric designs of the psychedelic artists, the beautiful faces of David Villaecija and many other graffiti works that colour the streets of this district.
As in many countries, this activity is illegal in Spain, so artists often paint the façades or gates of former factories, shops or warehouses on commission from their owners… abandoned buildings, the original destination of graffiti art, are still an exception, although the risk of being fined persists. Street art is by definition ‘ephemeral’ art and some of the graffiti we can admire today may no longer be there tomorrow, although we would certainly find new graffiti in their place. But above all, let’s not just call them graffiti, because each one tells an emotion, a message, a thought.
And after an afternoon among the street artists, the evening ended at dinner with the culinary artists, with ‘starred’ tapas and local beer.
Thanks to Cameo and Adam Hall, and in particular to Elisa Posteraro, for having accompanied us on this beautiful evening discovering the thousand lights of Street Art.
