Graffiti District in Puente Aranda

Graffiti District in Puente Aranda

Initially, the Graffiti District was located in Bogotá's industrial zone, on Avenida Américas and Carrera 53a, in the Puente Aranda district. Over time, this district initiative, based on the premise of responsible urban art and graffiti practice, set out to bring color and vibrancy to certain areas of the city.

The strategy focuses on the recovery of public space, and also generates actions that promote active, co-responsible, and participatory citizenship. And right there, where once there were cold warehouse walls, today there are colorful murals with images of animals and human faces that tell stories, in the largest concrete urban art gallery in Latin America.

There, in the graffiti area of Puente Aranda, around 1,500 square meters (equivalent to 24 walls) showcase the work of 25 national and international artists, including Ledania, Sabotaje al Montaje, Pez, Farid Rueda, and the collective A Tres Manos (Deimos, Ceroker, and Mugre Diamante). Through their talent, these artists have demonstrated how art can transform public spaces and turn stark blocks of brick into beautiful canvases brimming with imagination.

Today, this initiative has expanded to different districts across the city, with more than 300 interventions carried out between 2016 and 2020. These works have created cultural corridors and routes connecting parks, public schools, traditional markets, and other public spaces. In 2017, the Canadian blog Bombing Science recognized Bogotá Distrito Grafiti as one of the seven most important cities in the world for this artistic practice.

Other areas to explore Bogotá’s Graffiti District include:

— Bogotá’s Historic Center – Street Art in La Candelaria – Chorro de Quevedo Square.

—Bolívar Square.

— Carrera 7.ª.

— Centro Internacional.

— Teusaquillo neighborhood.

—Santa Fe neighborhood.

— Av. 26 – perhaps the largest urban art gallery in Colombia.