Graffiti in downtown SP: A guide to enjoying the coolest graffiti!

If you're looking for a route to appreciate the graffiti in downtown São Paulo, you've come to the right place. The central region of São Paulo has a wide variety of graffiti that you should definitely visit.

In the content we have prepared, you can choose the route you prefer to see them all, whether walking, skateboarding or biking. To help you get to know each of them, we will also talk a little about the artists responsible, about the MAR Project and about the NaLata International Urban Art Festival.

You can check all of this out by reading the content we have prepared to help you enjoy the best that the city of São Paulo has to offer in terms of street art.

The importance of graffiti in downtown SP

The importance of graffiti in the city of São Paulo is so great that the city has gained recognition as the graffiti capital of the world .

It all started with the engraver Alex Vallauri, who made portraits of people in the Port of Santos. In the 1980s, Vallauri created his work “The Black Boot”, which was reproduced on buildings in the city of São Paulo in a completely anonymous way.

At the same time, the artist sent postcards to his friends containing a stamp of a high-heeled boot over the city's historic buildings. As part of a joke, the artist wrote phrases about how the black boot was taking over the city.

March 27th became Graffiti Day, to honor the precursor of what would become such an important art form in the city of São Paulo.

What was once considered a crime, graffiti has become an art form with national and international recognition. The previously gray walls and walls have become true works of art in the hands of the artists who color the city.

MAR Project

MAR (Street Art Museum) is a project carried out by the city government of São Paulo. MAR is a partnership between the city government and the municipal departments of Culture and Education, with the help of the Subprefecture Department.

The project aims to increase the positive impact of this art form on the lives of the population in order to make graffiti a part of the city's culture and identity. With works by various artists, the large open-air museum spreads street art across all 5 macro-regions of the city.

With its wide scope, several famous names have already been involved in the project, such as Mundano, Speto, Veracidade, Verena Smit and Robinho Santana. In 2019, more than 30 new works were created, covering graffiti, stencil and photography.

In the 2020 edition of MAR, the event featured 40 new street arts spread throughout the city.

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Guide to checking out the best graffiti in downtown SP

If you want a guide to see the best graffiti that is part of the MAR project, just check out the tips we have prepared for you. Just grab a bottle of water, put on some sneakers and walk through the streets to see all these works of street art.

MAR project graffiti route

Since this is a project that covers the entire city of São Paulo, we have put together a guide just for the graffiti that is close to the city center. To check out this guide, you just need to go to the MASP area:

• At Rua Augusta, 1059, you can see the graffiti by artist Bueno Caos “Augusta Graças a Deus” in homage to one of the most bohemian streets in the city.
• At Rua da Consolação, 2223, artist Mauro Neri demonstrates in his work the importance of life in a clear tribute to women who fought for equality such as Marielle Franco and Ângela Davis.
• At Rua Caio Prado, 30, the artist Cadumen wanted to motivate people to be optimistic about the end of the pandemic through his work “A Cura”.
• At Avenida Nove de Julho, 451, artist Robinho Santana emphasizes the importance of fatherhood through the work Dialogues on Black Fatherhood.

Urban Aquarium Graffiti Guide

Near the Copan building in downtown São Paulo is the so-called Urban Aquarium, designed by artist Felipe Yung, known as Flip. A partnership with cultural producer Kleber Pagú, the idea is to transform downtown São Paulo into an open-air museum.

The ambitious project, although still incomplete, aims to compete in the Guinness Book of Records for the largest mural in the world. Once completed, the mural will cover more than 10,000 square meters of paint.

To see this ambitious project, you need to go to the area surrounding the Copan building. There are 15 buildings on Major Sertório and Bento de Freitas streets that are in the process of becoming the largest mural in the world.

Additionally, on weekends, enthusiasts gather at the intersection of streets (from where it is possible to have a wide view of the entire mural) to talk about the importance of art.

Guide to checking out other graffiti in downtown São Paulo

In addition to the Urban Aquarium, the center has other notable graffiti that you should check out, such as:

• At Rua XV de Novembro, 33, artist Hanna Lucatelli shows the matriarch of the Brazilian people. The message at the top of the mural “Love each other” is an important reminder to raise awareness about the importance of indigenous peoples to the history of Brazil.
• At Av. Brigadeiro Luís Antônio, 52, the panel “I Resist” by artist Mag Magrela brings a reflection on the importance of feminism.
• At Brigadeiro Luís Antônio Avenue, 1622, the artist Celso Gitahy signs his newest mural “TVnauta in the Desert”
• At Rua da Consolação, 927, the artist Thales Fernando, known as Pomb, brings his work full of vibrant colors that shows a man with a balloon head.

Now you know a little more about the importance of graffiti and have a ready-made itinerary for the central region of São Paulo. So just choose the best route and check them all out.

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Want more tips on itineraries to enjoy downtown? Take a look at our blog ! In addition to this text, we have others about culture in São Paulo too, check it out there.

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