The Colorful History of the SMA Murals
Any local of SMA has seen the gorgeous murals scattered around the Arts District in Colonia Guadalupe, but it didn’t use to be that way. We sat down with Colleen Sorenson to learn more about the murals’ history, struggle to get accepted and more. Sitting in her warm yellow patio in Colonia Guadalupe, a rustic outdoor sanctuary adorned with plants and wooden accents, we closed our eyes.
Our story begins some years back in a simpler time, one where Colonia Guadalupe was more residential, with Gombos Pizza, Vía Orgánica and a few cafes sprinkled in. At this time, street art, murals or graffiti were prohibited in San Miguel de Allende. Anything resembling it that popped up would disappear fast.
Modern graffiti dates back to the 70’s when Philadelphia youths started “tagging” or painting a specific code, like part of their name and numbers from their street address, on public property like poles or walls around town. It soon jumped over to Washington Heights in NY and thick magic markers slowly expanded to bubble letters written with spray paints as a form of expression. Though, as defacing public property was illegal, speed was critical to be able to “throw up” your design and thus the term “bombing” was used for quick writing of one’s name. A new form, known as “wild style” soon emerged, characterized by sharp, complex edges with letters close together and plenty of “flair” to help it stand out. All these forms of graffiti were methods of self-expression and the harsher the penalties became, the higher the rewards were in the form of popularity and fame. And, as captivating as the new art form was, it was not seen as glamorous by all and the artists were often categorized with negative adjectives.
But Colleen has been in fact, a mixed media artist for the last 30 years. In her studio, which includes a kiln and slab roller, she makes tiles of all shapes and sizes. Things changed when a troubled youth, facing multiple years in state prison for painting words where he should not have, passed through the doors of her San Antonio, Texas art studio some years ago. She challenged him with an art project and in exchange, she helped him through a tough time which kept him out of prison. He made a number of pieces, using aerosols to paint words he felt at the time in “wildstyle.” Colleen converted them into mosaic-tiled mixed media pieces; masked by the art, his feelings at the time, “Regret, Solitude, Suffer, Loser, and Worthless” are written, proudly hung on Colleen’s current studio walls in San Miguel.
After moving to San Miguel, Colleen noticed graffiti popping up and then being painted over. It was an issue that wouldn’t go away on its own and needed to be addressed. Colleen felt strongly that the prohibition of art on walls was a form of censorship and so worked to get the laws changed. Interested in how others perceived it, this opened up the conversation on graffiti.
After getting permission to paint on walls in Colonia Guadalupe she worked to plan the first Muros En Blanco Distrito de Arte Street Art Festival in 2013. The government agreed to pay for the paint, so the organizers had to get creative to finance the rest of the endeavor. During that weekend, local, national, and international artists gathered and painted murals all around the neighborhood. Many Mexican neighbors volunteered their walls and the local community got involved, bringing food. Colleen had “wall to wall air mattresses” for the artists to sleep on. The event was a huge success, with hoards of locals and tourists coming by to watch the murals be created. “It’s fascinating to watch the artists…each has their own approach, whether grid or section or freestyle. Some use aerosol, some acrylic and some a combination.”
Since then, over 140 murals have been commissioned, including paint-overs. Graffitiworld, run by artists Neo and Jan, has coordinated the paintings, typically with one in the winter and one in the summer, since 2015. With the support of property owners, Neo, Colleen and Jan have transformed what were once scores of blank, uncared for walls into the internationally recognized San Miguel Arts District in Colonia Guadalupe.
Colleen continues to live her “non-retired” life in SMA. After having all of her electronics robbed, a traumatic and violating experience a number of years ago, rather than replace them, she decided to shift into the simpler life. While she uses a device for the internet, she forwent her phone.
She keeps busy making all sorts of tiles and then cutting and crafting them into gorgeous pieces of mixed-media work. In addition she offers Art Walks through Col. Guadalupe, telling stories and explaining about the various art pieces. Meet Mon, Thu, or Fri at 10am & 2pm in front of Vía Orgánica; no reservation required, tours last roughly 2.5hrs and cost 300 pesos which help keep fund the projects.
The high quality paint they use is the most expensive part of the murals. If you would like to support the endeavors, you may put any contribution, in pesos, into a sealed envelope, write “PAINT” on it and give it to Colleen – she’ll make sure it gets to the right place.
If you have defaced exterior walls, contact “Siempre Hermoso” at www.sanmiguelsiemprehermoso.org and they will come to paint over them.
Check out some of the amazing photos and videos online and go enjoy SMA’s Art District: Colonia Guadalupe!
