Fanzara and MIAU

Fanzara and its Museo Inacabado de Arte Urbano, or MIAU, is full of murals. Wait, what? Another town full of murals? Surely not? Oh yes, definitely, and why not? It’s not like Geldo has a monopoly on those and it’s not like it’s impossible to have a unique approach. Plus all these towns need something to distinguish them from their neighbours. Where Geldo had a small(ish) number of very large murals, Fanzara took a different approach. First of all, it’s an actual museum, organized and curated. Second, the art is everywhere, no need to hunt for it here. From their website:

The Museo Inacabado de Arte Urbano MIAU (Unfinished Museum of Urban Art) is a project in constant evolution and growth, which was born with the aim of being a social movement that fostered coexistence among the residents of the small town of Fanzara. The project quickly became a collective experience of coexistence, collaboration and reciprocal exchange of learning between artists, neighbors, volunteers and organizers, all through urban art.

MIAU

As we approached the village, it immediately became clear that this place was going to be a little different, starting with the one-lane bridge leading to it. Fanzara in nestled into the side of a mountain and wedged between two bends of the Río Mijares. It’s pretty hilly and it’s pretty small. But it has a lot of art on its walls. So much, in fact, that it was impossible to put the phone down: every street meant more pictures, and the murals (or wall art) ranged from the large, building-sized type through little figures hiding in unusual spaces to 3D installations. The one main difference between Fanzara and Geldo is also the style of the art. For the most part it felt much more cartoonish, with many of the pieces having a fantastical feel to them. I also got the impression the village itself was a bit more rundown than the other places we’ve been to, and some of the buildings needed more than the art to make them look good.

It is very possible we saw all the art pieces … though it’s impossible to tell since, once again, we weren’t following a route or a map. We did stop in the little museum office and had a chat with the very nice man in charge. He probably hasn’t seen any visitors to his little village in a while (it is January, after all) so he had lots of time to tell us about the art. The pandemic didn’t stop things in 2020 and he is already planning the next batch of artists who will be coming in 2021. The idea is that they come for a week or two at a time, stay with the locals, and paint. All I can say is that no matter where I lived, the idea of having a mural painted on an outside wall of my house is firmly planted and I will make it happen. I may have to ask my friend Esther to help me out with that little project again; I hope she’ll say “yes.” 😉