Thanks to initiatives like Video Guerrilla, Rua Augusta, one of the most famous streets in São Paulo, became a gallery in open air during three nights, from 11 to 13 of November, from 8 pm to 4 am.

Video guerrilla is a mega collective intervention where a variety of artists from Brazil and other countries like the Netherlands work on different projection sites pointing over 8 different building facades, and therefore directly intervening in the public space.

This is not the first time that urban intervention with video take place in the city of São Paulo, in fact Visualfarm, the creative collective organizing this event, has already made many projections in the last 8 years, but any of them of this scale, we could say this is their most ambitious project. This first edition of Video Guerrilla has taken place in one of the most attractive and vibrant night live scenes of the city, between bares and prostitute clubs. This neighborhood, before only devoted to prostitution, is becoming one of the most important spots for entertainment in the city of São Paulo. And for 3 nights it turned into a node for urban art and culture.

During this event more than 80 national and international VJs, graffiti and artists, plus 4 local creative collectives has contributed to the programme with their visual creations. During 24 hours of images split over 3 days, different projections techniques were explored. People could see live digital graffiti, mapping, augmented reality and large format reflections like the ones at R. Augusta 541, where the installation ‘Agingantador de pessoas’ allowed people to interact with the camera and see themselves reflected on the facade at large scale. This last installation was especially successful, had great acceptance and served as a temporary platform for spontaneous public creativity.

The main goal of Video Guerrilla is to make a number of loud interventions in urban space that have an impact on the way people think or experience the city and where different visual languages meet. The festival also fostered debates and lectures relates to street art, urban culture and social ecology in different Universities of São Paulo during the previous months to the start of the night events at Rua Augusta.

Video Guerrilha is an opportunity for people to know the work by artists from Brazil and other countries. An event to experience the city differently and perceive places that otherwise will not draw your attention at all.

In this festival the street is understood as a public and collective space that demands more cultural content. This format presents art and culture as an inherent element of the city, standing as an accessible alternative to exclusive and formal art galleries and museums.

It responds to the need of getting out of the white box in all senses, which also implies getting out of the canvas. Needless to say that thanks to initiatives like this the VJ and visual culture in brazil is starting to receive larger financial support.

“Culture needs to be accessible to people and closer to people”, emphasized Alexis Anastasiou, founder of the festival.

“There is no better place for expression than the streets…free and open to the general public”, added Bruno Caramori, one of the artists involved.

This kind of urban intervention, also interactive, are important because they invite passers- by to break with their routines in their day a day, dream with other realities and connect to the urban space in many different ways, these new emotions will forever change their memories and perceptions about the urban space.