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Date Published: 13/06/2024

Camera Club shows how it is done at Los Alcazares Urban Art Festival

The Los Alcázares Camera Club have a pictorial report on the Los Alcázares Festival de Arte Urbano in June 2024

by LADCC

The Los Alcázares Digital Camera Club (LADCC) were out and about recently at the ‘Internacional Festival de Arte Urbano’ International Festival of Urban Art in Los Alcázares and Los Narejos. This was a three-day event bringing in many prestigious, internationally famous street artists who were let loose (officially) around the streets to produce some extraordinary displays of art work.

LADCC members took to the streets to not only take photos of the event but to try and understand the construction of the murals. Rather than simply take photos, members tried to collate a small, time-lapse dialogue of some of the artwork.

Although the festival was only three days, the walls had to be prepared beforehand, some even covered over earlier artwork that had disintegrated over time. Some of Los Alcázares’ original urban art was painted as far back as 2014 so this was a 10th Anniversary celebration of the Compañía de Mario, the local artists’ association of urban art. The tourist offices of Los Alcázares (turismo@losalcazares.es) and Los Narejos (turismolosnarejos@losalcazares.es) already publish a good ‘Ruta Urbano’ but the new works will almost double the existing number, and a new ruta will have to be prepared!

So, 10 years on from its inception, artists from across the globe got to work on the walls of Los Alcázares. The art work varied enormously, all with themes, ideas, or concepts with statements and purpose, which simply made you stare in wonder. Some artists prepare their work on paper, others on a tablet or laptop. The design can then be transferred to a wall or building on a larger scale using grid-lines, a projector or just by eye! Many artists worked individually but some worked together, particularly on the larger buildings that are several storeys high.

As there were so many murals being completed it is difficult to give a fair cross section of the artists’ work. All had stories which they were willing to share and we were surprised how happy the artists were to chat about their creations whilst working.

One of our members, Gary Hull, captured the climax of British artist Dan Kitchener’s work which was all done freehand with no notes or prepared pictures. In Gary’s words Dan simply looked at the mural one final time and then “He stepped back, took a final look, sprayed four white dots and was done.” It is an incredibly busy Far Eastern night street scene, using reflections, and all freehand! One of Gary’s photos, showing Dan posing with his artwork, has been shared widely on local social media by Dan.

Images: Gary Hull

Along the walls of the Los Alcázares Polideportivo, our members found many artists at work, despite being interrupted many times by interested passers-by and the regular Los Alcázares Tourist train! Several wonderful urban art murals were completed.

Richard captured three stages of a mural completed by Esther Soto, giving the viewer an idea of how a mural progresses.

Images: Richard Townend

Another mural along the same wall was completed by local artists, father and son Pablo and Miguel Jurado. Initially sketching out their design on paper and then using an overlay with squares to enable them to transfer the design onto the wall. Their portrayal of balance using Miguels’ left hand and a ballerina on his finger was complemented by the logarithmic spiral which abounds in nature. The whole work promotes the idea of balance and power being in your hands! It was interesting to see how the artists continually critiqued their work and added or deleted details accordingly. In the end their mural came out as they wanted and conveyed a powerful message.

Images: Bob Gasston

These were artists at street level but what about some of the artists who were balancing on cherry-pickers in occasional gusting wind? Some were using spray paints, difficult in the wind, and some simply covering enormous structures in what seemed such a short period of time?

Toni Espinar spent, it would appear, all weekend alone on a cherry picker and completed a huge mural some three storeys high, entitled ‘Deconstrúyete’ which is based on an ancient legend about a unicorn that lived in the forests of Pinatar. The magnitude of the work was really impressive!

Image: Bob & Sally Gasston

Another vast design with incredible individual brush stroke work was from a local partnership, Aldo Falchetti and Chais Martin, who had to first cover up previous faded art work of the Mar Menor from 2017 before even starting their project. You have to admire the ‘Caligrafía” from a distance to appreciate the scale of their work.

Images: Sally Gasston

One of the local artists was teenager Paula Tovar, who produced a magnificent mural and it was quite special for someone of her age to be even asked to participate, in my opinion.

Images: Bob & Sally Gasston

The artists have completed their projects and now is the time to go and admire these great works of art at your leisure around Los Alcázares and Los Narejos. However, take your time and your walking shoes, or even get on your bike, as there are lots to see!

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Share the pleasure of photography in the Mar Menor area

The Los Alcázares Digital Camera Club (LADCC) was founded in 2006 and was originally called the LA Digital Cafe, where members met over a coffee to discuss photography. This quickly developed into a more formal programme of monthly photo competitions and outings to places of photographic interest.

Over the years, the club has adapted to the changes in camera technology and techniques, and continued throughout Covid by using ‘Zoom’ for online meetings and learning sessions.

Fast forward to 2024, and the club is now a small, enthusiastic, friendly group where members encourage and support each other at the start of, and throughout, their photographic journey. The group includes a wide range of people with varying skills, all of whom are happy to share techniques, tips and ideas to improve one’s hobby.

They have monthly competitions and outings that provide an opportunity to explore different aspects of photography and develop camera craft and artistic skills. Their indoor sessions may include in-house training, reviews of monthly competitions or planning outings to cover topics discussed.

They meet once a month at the ‘Centro Cultural las Claras’ in Los Narejos, which has super facilities and ample parking. Any outings are usually towards the end of the month to link in with our regular competitions.

New members are most welcome and if you would like more information, please make contact as follows: