- 'Diasporas,' by the Canarian artist Feoflip, is located at Avenida de San Sebastián.
- The project has already brought 22 large-format urban works of art to the city.
Starting today, the Avenida San Sebastián in the capital of Tenerife hosts the new mural of the 'Immerse yourself in Santa Cruz' initiative, promoted by Fundación Cepsa with participation by the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, through the Regional Agency of Culture.
The large-format urban work of art, which began on March 1, is called Diasporas and was created by the Canary Island artist Fran Feo, known artistically as Feoflip. With a degree in fine arts and a higher technical degree in illustration, he has an extensive professional career closely linked since his beginnings, two decades ago, to the creation of murals abroad, with important artistic creations in diverse countries such as Germany, Armenia, Mexico, Uruguay, Belgium, and others.
The piece was inaugurated this morning by the mayor of Santa Cruz, José Manuel Bermúdez, and the head of Fundación Cepsa in the Canary Islands, Belén Machado, accompanied by the municipal councilor of Culture, Gladis de León, and the coordinator of the La Salle-Health District, Marta Vela.
The mayor wanted to thank both Fundación Cepsa and the mural artist for their involvement in bringing art to the streets of our town and stressed "the importance of such actions that give life to spaces that would otherwise remain empty." "Undoubtedly, this mural adds to the list of must-sees for tourism in our city and makes it a benchmark of urban art," he added.
For her part, Belén Machado emphasized that "this campaign has already transformed 22 degraded walls into enormous canvases full of energy and color, full of meaning in line with the concerns of each artist, which Fundación Cepsa offers for the enjoyment of the city's residents and visitors."
A mural full of content
According to the author, Diasporas "is a tribute to all the people who were exiled from their native country" and reminds us that "the history of humanity was written and built thanks to those migratory movements that enriched us culturally and economically, shaping the society we are today."
Feoflip underlined that the mural reflects "all those people who, due to drastic circumstances, have to leave their place of origin, leaving behind their families and customs to venture on a path of uncertain destiny, risking their lives because their situation is unstable."
In this sense, he referenced that part of the Canary population emigrated in the mid-twentieth century, in poorly prepared boats, to Cuba, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Argentina, and added that currently there are many people who are risking their lives in search of a better future.
To represent this idea, the artist bases his mural on two spinning tops, a toy as old and universal as migration itself, in constant movement, together with different characters spinning around on a rope.
Since 2012
'Immerse yourself in Santa Cruz' was launched in 2012 as a pioneering initiative on the island in terms of outdoor art exhibitions. Since then, it has established itself as a hallmark of the capital of Tenerife through its commitment to bring art closer to the residents and improve the aesthetics of different locations in the downtown of the capital of Tenerife.
With this new addition, there are now a total of 22 murals promoted by Fundación Cepsa in different locations in the Tenerife capital. An initiative aimed at beautifying walls and facades lacking aesthetics or in a state of neglect, providing them with artistic content.
Fundación Cepsa wants to call for the participation by the communities of residents to propose future sites for murals in the downtown of the capital of Tenerife and its immediate surroundings, encouraging them to email their proposals to canarias@fundacioncepsa.com.