GRAPHOPOLI is the first edition of an Urban Art Biennale curated by Celina Nogueras Cuevas, developed by the

Museum of Art of Puerto Rico The Museum of Art of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico'', abbreviated MAPR) is an art museum in Santurce, a barrio of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with 18 exhibition halls. The museum is located in a historic building, formerly occup ...

(MAPR) and sponsored by

UBS Financial Services UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...

. With an open call for portfolios last April the MAPR drafted the best urban artists from the Island and challenged them to transform giant scale structures into eye-catching urban landmarks. The artists had an opportunity to intervene uncommon places such as a

water pump A pump is a device that moves fluids (liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they u ...

, a

student residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university ...

building, a sport center, a lighthouse viewpoint and a

water tank A water tank is a container for storing water. Water tanks are used to provide storage of water for use in many applications, drinking water, irrigation agriculture, fire suppression, agricultural farming, both for plants and livestock, chemi ...

, among others. A selection committee which consisted of international figures such as infamous Miss 17 from NY and artist/editor of Swindle Magazine, Sonik (Boston) among local professionals selected the artists that were to participate in the event. GRAPHOPOLI accommodated the contestants in two categories: solo and crew. Artists such as BIKISMO, SOFIA, LARREGUI, NEPO and PUN18, preceded the solo artist category. Each artist challenged concepts of

everyday life Everyday life, daily life or routine life comprises the ways in which people typically act, think, and feel on a daily basis. Everyday life may be described as mundane, routine, natural, habitual, or normal. Human diurnality means most peop ...

and propaganda, such as

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...

and visual exploitation, gentrification, femininity, fantasy, childhood among others. The second category composed by: ADMcru, COROGRAFICO and OS Crew, transformed ordinary structures and walls with their signature styles: a combination of playful personages, colorful urban settings, and remarkable photo-like creations. This first edition of GRAPHOPOLI captivated various

municipalities of Puerto Rico The municipalities of Puerto Rico (Spanish: ''municipios de Puerto Rico'') are the second-level administrative divisions in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. There are 78 such administrative divisions covering all 78 incorporated towns and cities ...

that instantly adopted this innovative program into their art and cultural enhancement plan.

References

{{reflist Puerto Rican art Art festivals in Puerto Rico Street art festivals San Juan, Puerto Rico