Boa Mistura

Boa Mistura is an artistic collective that uses graffiti to transform public spaces. Their projects foster social cohesion and create pride within local communities. Their mission is to transform public spaces and enrich the lives of the community by creating artistic projects that strengthen community pride and visibility of cultural diversity.

Boa Mistura places residents at the center of the transformation process, collaborating to create a space that serves the local population by creating a sense of belonging and altering how the broader city perceives the community. Through this process, Boa Mistura emphasizes knowledge exchange and promotes positive, long-lasting change. Rooted in graffiti practices, the collective thrives on creativity, inclusion, respect, dialogue, exchange, and empowerment, firmly believing in the power of active participation and collaboration to drive meaningful change.

City

Madrid

Country

Spain

Region

Europe

Year of Creation

2001

Featured Project

NOS ESTÁN APAGANDO

La Cañada Real, Europe’s largest informal settlement, has been without electricity since October 2020, affecting 4,000 residents, half of whom are children. A collective cry for help, organized by Boa Mistura in 2021, was literally written in large letters in front of the settlement, reading: “THEY ARE SWITCHING OUT US,” written in Spanish. The letters were created with 4,000 candles, lit by the community, to highlight the ongoing human rights and housing crisis in the region. Candles— the only source of light and heat available for the settlement— were chosen as the medium of the large-scale installation to represent the lack of electricity and infrastructure allotted to support those living in La Cañada Real, whose infrastructure problem has essentially abandoned by the Spanish government and the EU.

NOS ESTÁN APAGANDO, 2021

Resources

Butler, Andy. “Interview with Design Collective Boa Mistura.” designbloom, 21 Aug. 2014, https://www.designboom.com/art/interview-with-design-collective-boa-mistura-08-21-2014/.

Garofalo, Vincenza. “Experiences of Anamorphosis between Poetry, Architecture, and Social Context: Interview with Boa Mistura.” DISEGNARECON Street Art. Drawing on the Walls, vol. 13, no. 24, June 2020, Department of Architecture (DARCH), University of Palermo, ISSN 1828‑5961. research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/an-opportunity-to-imagine-another-world-an-ethnographic-report-on.

“Meet Boa Mistura.” CanvasRebel Magazine, 28 Sept. 2023, canvasrebel.com/meet-boa-mistura/.

Serrano, Javier. “Interview with Boa Mistura.” The Sibarist, 3 Feb. 2025, thesibarist.com/en/magazine/interview-with-boa-mistura/.

“The Best Works by Boa Mistura across the World.” Iberia Club Magazine, Sept. 2021, iberiaclubmagazine.iberia.com/en/articles/2021/9/the-best-works-by-boa-mistura-across-the-world/.

More Information

boamistura.com

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