Street Art and Murals

In 2014 Odeith’s mural “The Boy with the Birds” on the facade of the Auditório José Afonso was named one of the world’s 24 best murals. The Cara ou Coroa festival turned the Alameda das Palmeiras in Bela Vista into one of Portugal’s finest outdoor galleries. The TAUS a Céu Aberto project creates murals together with residents of the fishing quarters.

“The Boy with the Birds” — Odeith

In March 2014 the street artist Sérgio Odeith painted a mural on the facade of the Auditório José Afonso on Avenida Luísa Todi. The work, approximately 20 metres tall, reproduces a 1930s photograph from the archive of Setúbal photographer Américo Ribeiro — a boy selling birds in the street.

Technique: roller and graffiti, almost entirely in black and white — except for the birds, painted in colour. The I Support Street Art movement named “O Rapaz dos Pássaros” one of the 24 best murals of 2014 in the world.

While working, Odeith discovered that the boy in the photograph was still alive — he was 91 years old.

Cara ou Coroa festival

“Heads or Tails” — a street art festival organised by the association ACUPARTE (headed by Smile1art) in partnership with the municipality through the “Nosso Bairro, Nossa Cidade” project.

• Dates: 30 March – 2 April (4 days)
• Location: Alameda das Palmeiras, Bairro da Bela Vista
• Works: 9 murals on building gables
• Theme: the city of Setúbal and the positive aspects of the Bela Vista neighbourhood

Participants: Tretze (Barcelona), Norm (Germany), Utopia (Brazil), Bane & Pest, Nark, Samina, Smile, Gonçalo Mar, Projecto Matilha (Portugal).

The initiative transformed one of the city’s marginal neighbourhoods into one of the finest street art galleries in Portugal.

TAUS a Céu Aberto

A municipal artistic promotion project developed with the Associação Faísca Voadora. Murals are created with residents through collaborative workshops.

Pescadores and Grito do Povo neighbourhoods

Two murals unveiled on 11 November reflect the experience and memory of the fishing-quarter communities:

• “Luz” (Ângela Miranda Penedo) — symbolises unity and peace through simple colours, connecting the two neighbourhoods
• “O Caminho dos Pescadores” (the Explicit Citizens collective) — blue tones and fishing motifs, inspired by a poem by resident Abílio Paciência

The requalification of the Pescadores and Grito do Povo quarters involved investment of over EUR 2 million under the PEDU plan.

Other artists

• EXIB Música: a Uruguayan artist painted a mural on Avenida Luísa Todi
• Nark: contributed to the Cara ou Coroa festival; also known for work at the Saramago Foundation in Lisbon
• Projecto Matilha: a series of murals challenging attitudes to stray dogs — images deconstructed into lines and curves

Where to look

A map of Setúbal’s street art is available at streetartcities.com/cities/setubal. Key locations:

• Auditório José Afonso — “The Boy with the Birds”
• Alameda das Palmeiras (Bela Vista) — 9 murals from Cara ou Coroa
• Bairro dos Pescadores / Grito do Povo — TAUS murals
• Historic centre — individual works

See also

• Setúbal as a Creative City
• The Azulejos of Setúbal
• Modernist Architecture