Estepona International Mural Competition receives record number of entries with 116 projects from a dozen countries

The jury has selected the 10 artists who will perform their works from October 7 to 17.

The ten murals will become part of the city’s Outdoor Urban Art Route.

The III International Mural Contest of Estepona has reached a record number of participants with a total of 116 proposals, which shows the consolidation of this urban art project in the city, which has become a reference both in Spain and abroad. This initiative, organized by the City Council with the collaboration of the residential developer AEDAS Homes, aims to promote the development of art in the city and expand the famous route of vertical artistic creations in the open air. In this third edition, ten more building facades will be covered with murals.

In addition to the proposals from different parts of Spain, among the 116 entries received are works from countries such as Germany, France, Colombia, Canada, Mexico, the United States, South Africa, Venezuela, Argentina, Italy, Peru and Australia.

The jury of the competition has already selected the 10 works that enter the competition and that will execute their works from October 7 to 17. Those chosen are: Andrés Sánchez-Ocaña Núñez Misterpiro (Madrid), Fabián Bravo (Seville), José Enrique Ragel (San Pedro Alcántara), Olorapintura (Madrid), Pincel Echeverría Mena (Barcelona), José Fernández Ríos (Jaén), Manuel Moreno Guiaro (Melbourne, Australia), Borja Fernández Gramage (Madrid), Ignacio Vasave Cavanna (Madrid), and Diego Anido Seijas (Lugo).

The jury’s decision will be announced on October 18. The evaluation criteria are: project originality and quality, integration in the urban space, as well as technical feasibility.

This year, the Estepona International Mural Competition will award 27,000 euros in prizes. The jury will select a first prize of 10,000 euros and a second prize of 5,000 euros. In addition, eight finalists will be chosen to receive 1,500 euros each.

The contest is open to creators of any nationality and over 18 years of age. The theme, plot or plastic composition is free. The work is not limited to the type of artistic representation. The compositions must be original, not awarded in similar contests, and unpublished, being understood as unpublished those that have not been previously performed in any other public place.

In the words of the mayor of Estepona, José María García Urbano, this contest “contributes to consolidate and expand the Route of Artistic Murals of Estepona, a cultural initiative that has become an important tourist attraction and one of the hallmarks of the municipality”.

Estepona has become in the last decade a true open-air museum that offers a new way to enjoy urban art through the route of the murals. A total of 64 artistic murals decorate the facades of buildings in different neighborhoods and areas, bringing them to life and making them an added attraction. One of them, entitled ‘Dia de Pesca’, is one of the tallest vertical murals in Spain. It occupies almost 1,000 square meters of surface and is made on the facade of six blocks of apartments in the Isabel Simón neighborhood. This outdoor art route will add another ten murals once the contest is over.