
The mural created by the Catalan artist Slim Safont in the Sant Joan neighborhood of Vilanova i la Geltrú has been recognized as one of the three best in the world for its impact on the local community, according to urban art experts from the Street Art Cities competition.
The work, inaugurated on December 4 in the Plaça del Xoriguer, is a tribute to the origins and history of the neighborhood, and has counted with the active participation of the neighbors. Through a community session, residents shared ideas, experiences and emotions that served as inspiration for the artist.
The mural depicts Ainhoa, a neighbor of the neighborhood for several generations, who participates in the collective life as a user of the Centre Obert. In her hands, the young woman holds the portrait of one of the first families to arrive in Vilanova i la Geltrú during the migrations of the 1950s and 1960s.
The image seeks to generate a dialogue between past and present, uniting the generation that started a new life in the city with the one that inherits its history.
The project stands out for recovering the historical memory and the migratory roots that make up the social fabric of Vilanova i la Geltrú, reflecting values such as community, coexistence, diversity and belonging to the neighborhood.
Slim Safont, recognized for his pictorial, figurative and realistic work with projects linked to social issues, has managed to create a work that goes beyond the aesthetic, becoming a symbol of union and social cohesion for the inhabitants of Sant Joan.
Now, this piece has been recognized by the jury of experts of Street Art Cities, the world’s largest urban art competition that each year chooses the best murals in the world in 3 themes and through anonymous votes from the community.
The Street Art Cities Awards, considered the “Oscars” of urban art, in its 2024 edition, counted with the participation of 97 artists from 29 countries and registered more than 310,000 votes.
In this year’s edition, the winning mural in the ‘Best Of’ category was “The Bull” by Portuguese artist Nuno Miles, located in Guarda, Portugal. In the ‘Expert Spotlight’ category, the award went to “Echoes of Harmony” by Studio Giftig, in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
In Spain, awards also went to the murals by BubleGum in Cheste (Valencia), Sbah in San Javier (Murcia) and Cristóbal Persona in Fene (A Coruña).