OUR WORKING METHODOLOGY HAS BEEN AWARDED THE BRONZE MEDAL
AT THE WORLD HABITAT AWARDS OF UN HABITAT + WORLD HABITAT 2018.
Mission
Our mission is to transform public space and enrich the lives of communities. We create artistic projects that help strengthen social cohesion, community pride and the visibility of cultural diversity, Placing residents at the centre of the transformation process from their own environment.
We work hand in hand with residents to create meaningful spaces in their communities, seeking to foster feelings of belonging and altering the perception that the rest of the city has of them.
During these processes, learning and the exchange of capabilities, from the community to us and from us to the community, take on special relevance so that, together, we can promote respectful, positive and lasting social change.
Vision
Our vision is to contribute to the improvement of public spaces through participatory processes.
We wish to be a catalyst for social cohesion and cultural exchange, imagining a future in which each community uses its capabilities and knowledge to continue transforming its environment in a creative and sustainable way, strengthening its collective identity and thus contributing to a more inclusive and resilient world.
Values
+ CREATIVITY: We encourage innovation and artistic expression in each of our projects
+ INCLUSION: We promote diversity and equality, ensuring that all voices are heard and valued.
+ RESPECT: We value the dignity and perspectives of each individual, promoting an attitude of consideration and appreciation towards the ideas, cultures and experiences of others.
+ DIALOGUE: We encourage open and honest communication as a means to understand and value different points of view.
+ EXCHANGE: We value the process of sharing knowledge, skills and experiences to foster learning and promote innovation.
+ EMPOWERMENT: Through the active and leading participation of the neighbors during the project
1. CERTAIN AREA
Neighbor and relationship diagram
before the intervention.
2. Dynamization
Boa Mistura builds bridges by seeking the complicity of its neighbours.
3. Intervention
During this stage, neighbors meet and get to know each other. Dialogue and interaction are encouraged.
4. After
Now that Boa Mistura is gone, the goal is to leave a more cohesive and resilient community.
WHAT WE DO
BELÉN DE LOS ROSALES SCHOOL
2025. Bata, Equatorial Guinea
Symbiosis Workshop held on the main facade of the Belén de los Rosales School together with the students of the same in collaboration with the CCE (Spanish Cultural Center) in Bata.
The chosen words were "RESPECT", "PEACE" and "SOUL", written on the creatively created free expression background.
GAZA, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
2025. Madrid, Spain.
An initiative of UNRWA Spain, UNICEF Spain, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam Intermón, Save the Children y Movement for Peace (MPDL), along with dozens of organizations and personalities, to demand that Spain, European leaders, and states allied with the Israeli government exercise their influence to protect the population of Gaza.
A gathering in which a multitude of participants contributed messages of support and protest to create this collaborative mural at Casa Árabe. Gaza, Enough!
CEAR CF.
2023-2025.
The CEAR CF is a project of the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid.
It promotes the social inclusion of refugees and migrants through football, fostering solidarity, coexistence, and teamwork.
Starting from the word “REFUGE”, we designed the kit worn by the team, as well as the club's crest.
TALENT.
2025. Ossimo, Italy.
Workshop with the students of the Istituto di Istruzione Superiore Laeng-Meucci, in Osimo and Castelfidardo, Italy.
We wrote the word TALENT, chosen democratically, in the hallway leading to the classrooms.
SYMBIOSIS WORKSHOP, NIÑO JESUS HOSPITAL.
2025. Madrid, Spain.
Workshop held in collaboration with the Argadini Association in the hospital classrooms of the Niño Jesús Hospital in Madrid.
The workshop consisted of collective painting on a large piece of paper, from which fragments were then cut out to create a small piece that the students could keep as a memento of their participation.
CLIMAID PROJECT. CO-FINANCED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION.
2025. 5 European Countries.
We have had the opportunity to participate in the European project CLIMAID, sharing our participatory urban art methodology, SIMBIOSIS, with four other entities from Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Portugal.
The starting point was the joint selection of five keywords that would serve as a collective message in the face of climate change: "In the UNION of our roots, HOPE blossoms, weaving a FUTURE where COMMUNITY CHANGE honors our HERITAGE and guides us towards new possibilities."
We shared our methodology with various local artists, who led the creation of participatory murals in their territories alongside diverse communities.
This process was made possible thanks to the collaboration with the University of Zaragoza (Spain), Universidade Lusófona (Portugal), Centre Dot (Cyprus), Gruppo Archeologico (Italy) and the Municipality of Ios (Greece).
REFUGEE DAY WORKSHOP.
2024. Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, Spain.
The workshop aims to address various causes related to humanitarian crises that cause forced displacement, focusing the message on the visibility of refugees.
In each city (Barcelona, Madrid, and Valencia), we began by writing a word representative of a local crisis (Drought, Inequality, and Conflict) in a grid approximately 15 cm square. During the participatory day, each person colored a square, contributing to the blurring of the causes and their transformation into the final word: REFUGEES (or REFUGIATS in Barcelona). The activities took place simultaneously in the three centers (Caixa Forum Madrid, Cosmo Caixa Barcelona y Caixa Forum Valencia), with a live connection between them. The resulting work is a 10 x 2 meter installation, which was exhibited in the plazas near the centers.
ARGADINI ASSOCIATION SYMBIOSIS WORKSHOP.
2024. Madrid, Spain.
Workshop held in collaboration with the Argadini Association in our studio.
The workshop consisted of collective painting on a large piece of paper, from which fragments were then cut out to create a small piece that the students could keep as a memento of their participation.
LUIS CERNUDA SCHOOL.
2023. Madrid, Spain.
When reviewing the student surveys, we found that the proposed floor design, with its geometric shapes and color contrasts, reflects the neighborhood's positive atmosphere, described by students with words like "friendship" and "joy." Inspired by these concepts, we decided to work with the idea of conveying the joy characteristic of childhood: that of carefree play.
Through the geometries of the floor, we aim to invite residents to interact with the work in a fun way, jumping and walking through the "boxes," creating a playful experience that reflects that sense of community and fun.
CROSSROADS. BOA MISTURA'S CIRCULAR JOURNEY.
2022.
CROSSROADS It is a documentary that talks about art as a tool for transformation.
The outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, are the epicenter of an inspiring journey through the work of the graffiti-based art collective Boa Mistura.
Along the way, urban art becomes the vehicle that connects the lives of a resident of a favela in São Paulo, a young man from the Kibera slum in Kenya, an indigenous Mapuche woman in northern Chile, a Syrian refugee, and a woman from a fishing village in the Dominican Republic.
These small encounters through painting are the spark that ignites change both among the community members and the community as a whole.
The documentary has been selected at festivals such as Documenta Madrid, Alcine 54, and Marché du Film 2023, and received recognition at the 32nd Madrid Film Festival and the XNUMXth Santander Film Festival, where it received the Audience Award and the Sustainability Lighthouse Award in the official first feature section.
Directed by Dan Barreri
Direction of photography: Fer Taranco
Original music: Leiva
ROOTS OF SEA AND MOUNTAIN.
2022. Antofagasta, Chile.
The schools Elmo Fúnez Carrizo y The ArenalesLocated high on the hill, they connect at the corner of Río Maule Street, forming a continuous loop that symbolizes the union of both institutions through a cyclical structure. The design is inspired by the cultural roots of the Antofagasta region, where rock art and local folklore reflect the ancestral connection with the area's extreme ecosystems, such as the Chimba National Reserve and the Pacific Ocean.
On the façades of the high schools, the design depicts emblematic birds and mammals on the horizon of Los Arenales High School, while at Elmo Fúnez Carrizo, sea lions and turtles reflect marine life at different depths.
JOSE ECHEGARAY PRIMARY SCHOOL.
2022. Madrid, Spain.
The project is the result of a participatory process with the educational community of the José Echegaray Primary School to intervene in the courtyard and the main entrance of the center.
Through activities with each class, the words "ALMA" and "FUTURO" are chosen and subsequently painted with the help of all the students at the school.
HEARTBEAT FROM THE OCEAN.
2021. Vilnius, Lithuania.
Work done for Our fish, supporting their fight to reduce the devastating impact of overfishing and preserve the seas and oceans as protective agents and sustenance of life on the planet.
MOZAMBIAN WOMAN.
2021. Maputo, Mozambique.
The project commemorates 40 years of Spanish Cooperation in Mozambique, focusing on the role of women as key agents in the country's development. The situation of Mozambican women reflects advances, such as greater political representation (over 30%), but also challenges such as poverty, discrimination, illiteracy, and violence. Women are responsible for agricultural production (85%) and play reproductive, productive, and community roles.
The capulana, an important cultural symbol, was used to "dress" the facade of the Technical Office of the AECID, paying tribute to Mozambican women, especially the unsung ones. The work was designed through meetings with local women who have participated in Spanish Cooperation projects, with the aim of capturing symbolic elements that reflect their struggles and achievements. This process of cultural immersion seeks to create an authentic piece representative of Mozambique's female legacy. The work was created in collaboration with CEMFAC.
VIRGIN OF THE CAVE SCHOOL.
2021. Esparagosa de Lares, Spain.
The project is the result of a participatory process with the educational community of the Primary School Virgen de la Cueva to intervene on two facades of the center.
Through activities with each class, the words ROOT and SOUL are chosen and then painted with the help of all the students at the school.
RECONCILE.
2021. Bouillargues, France.
"Avenir" is the future that the generations of the public Institute The fountains They represent for the town, as well as the initiative of an entire teaching team to carry out alternative activities to the official educational program, which empower and motivate young people.
VELOKHAYA.
2019. Khayelitsha (Cape Town), South Africa.
Velokhaya Life Cycling Academy is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 in the Khayelitsha slum, South Africa (one of the largest in the country).
Through cycling and other educational programs, the goal is to provide tools that empower young people in these communities affected by poverty, unemployment, and violence, creating a safe space in which to grow and develop.
In 2019, we carried out a collaborative process to design and paint the club's new facilities.
We also design the jerseys that Velokhaya wears in various national and international competitions.
CEAR. HOME/FUTURE.
2018. Madrid, Spain.
The two greatest concerns and words that dwell in the hearts of the center's residents are home and the future.
Home represents their past, their roots, and their identity, while the future is a source of uncertainty, a desire to know what lies ahead. At the intersection of these two concepts, the desire for a promising future and the possibility of creating a new home emerge.
By writing these words on the facade, we want to welcome the newcomer and bid farewell to the departing, reminding them that they deserve a decent home and a better future.
OVERCOMING.
2017. Barcelona, Spain.
Symbiosis workshop held at the entrance to the children's area of Vall d'Hebron Hospital, with hospital staff, family members, and long-stay patients.
The word chosen was "SUPERACIÓ", written on the collectively created background of free expression.
Symbiosis workshop in Chamartín
2016. Madrid, Spain.
Symbiosis Workshop held at Chamartín station, in the Madrid Metro, together with 60 people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities Full Inclusion Madrid, with the support of the Repsol Foundation and Madrid Metro.
This intervention is part of the More Culture = More Inclusion project, through which we champion the active role of people with disabilities as creators and consumers of culture, and its role in the inclusion of groups at risk of exclusion.
THE COLORS OF THE EARTH.
2015. Icalupe, Nicaragua.
"The colors of the earth" It is a project carried out in collaboration with Action Against Hunger y Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in the village of Icalupe, in northwestern Nicaragua.
The main objective was to create economic development alternatives for a predominantly agricultural region experiencing a prolonged period of drought. To this end, a cultural activation project was proposed to transform the town into a tourist attraction on the route to the Cocos River Canyon Geopark.
While the initial intention was for Boa Mistura to carry out a comprehensive intervention in the town, the reality was that local women were already creating their own decorative murals.
Painting more murals no longer made sense. The most logical thing to do was to contribute knowledge to extend the life of the existing ones. So we decided to teach an egg yolk tempera workshop. Combining local resources—eggs from their farmyards, boiled water, and natural pigments from rocks—the women of Icalupe learned to create murals that would last over time.
FUTURE.
2014. Lima, Peru.
Work carried out for the United Nations climate summit held in Lima (Peru) in 2014.
Driven Greenpeace, the work was created as a “legacy” of the environmental and development organizations, as well as the indigenous communities participating in the summit,
The piece was designed based on the main messages and ideas discussed and proposed by the various groups, becoming a visual statement of civil society's demands and appeals to governments.
SAN CRIS DE COLORES.
2013. Madrid, Spain.
The project is part of one of the phases of the collective's “Autobarrios” project Basurama.
Through a collective process, this place is being reclaimed, reinventing its function and transforming it into a compelling urban space for and by the neighborhood's residents.
The intervention focuses on the access bridge to the San Cristóbal de los Ángeles neighborhood in Madrid, an area historically stigmatized and disconnected from the rest of the city by the infrastructure surrounding it: the railway (to the north and east), the A4 motorway (to the west), and the former Army Motor Park (to the south).
They have collaborated with us
+ United Nations Organization
+ UNHCR
+ UNRWA – United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
+ UNDP – United Nations Development Programme
+ AECID – Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation
+ SEGIB – Ibero-American General Secretariat
+ CEAR – Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid
+ Amnesty International
+ Oxfam Intermon
+ Amref
+ Greenpeace
+ WWF – World Wild Foundation
+ Action Against Hunger
+ SDC – Swiss Cooperation
+ Children's Villages
+ Eleven Foundation
+ Full Inclusion Madrid
+ APNEEF Association
+ Bobath Foundation
+ Argadini Association
+ La Caixa Foundation
+ Fundación Telefónica
+ Orange Foundation
+ Mustakis Foundation
+ Orbis Group Foundation
+ Madrid City Council
+ Barcelona City Council
+ Paris City Hall
+ Mexico City Government
+ Bogota City Hall
+ Mayor's Office of Guadalajara (Mexico)
+ Spanish Ministry of Equality
+ Ministry of Environment of the Dominican Republic
+ Creo Antofagasta Development Plan (Chile)
+ Infonavit – National Workers Housing Fund Institute (Mexico)
+ Gcphe – Group of World Heritage Cities of Spain
+ Sesc – Social Service of Commerce (Brazil)
+ Harvard University (Boston, USA)
+ TEC de Monterrey – Itesm (Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico)
+ UPV (Valencia, Spain)
+ UPM (Madrid, Spain)
+ University of Caldas (Manizales, Colombia)
+ University of Costa Rica – UCR
+ University of Malaga (Spain)
+ Francisco de Vitoria University (Madrid, Spain)
+ Isthmus University of Architecture and Design (Panama City, Panama and Chihuahua, Mexico)
+ University of Alcala de Henares
+ Faculty of Fine Arts Complutense University of Madrid
+ Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Seville
