The Rua Walls tactical urbanism project, a pioneer in the city of Rio de Janeiro, finished painting the facade of the Parque Estadual Library (BPE), inspired by the centenary of the 1922 Modern Art Week, held in São Paulo between the 11th and February 18 of that year. The mural was developed by the collective MUDA.
The work continues the series of 22 new panels already delivered by Rua Walls and spread over 1.5 km on Avenida Rodrigues Alves, the city’s port area, in December 2021. The 2021/2022 edition of Rua Walls is sponsored by Enel Distribuição Rio, through the State Law of Incentive to Culture of Rio de Janeiro, by the State Department of Culture and Creative Economy (SECEC-RJ) and by the state government.
wall
The mural of the Biblioteca Parque Estadual has about 800 square meters and is painted on the facade of the building, located on Avenida Presidente Vargas, central region of the city of Rio. Architect Rodrigo Kalache, from the Muda collective, explained that, “in this intervention, the search for it is through the integration between the architectural object of the Library and the passers-by – people who pass by on foot, by car and by bus”.
Kalache recalled that Avenida Presidente Vargas is one of the busiest in Rio and the idea is to promote an intervention that talks about this displacement. “That’s why we created a kinetic panel that transforms as the viewer walks through the art”, he informed. The MUDA collective was created in 2010 and is recognized for carrying out graphic experiments with geometric and abstract aesthetics in classic coatings, such as tile.
One of the creators of Rua Walls, André Bretas, said that the “project involves art, culture and tactical urbanism, thinking about the city in the post-pandemic”. city, “well known for its natural beauties and which is now gaining more and more space in the world’s most democratic art scene, urban art”
Now, the collective will be in charge of painting the sides of the library, as well as details inside the equipment, which is expected to be finished in ten days.
Culture house
The Secretary of Culture and Creative Economy of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Danielle Barros, highlighted that “the State Park Library is the home of the state’s culture and is already fully functioning with various cultural actions in its spaces. 100 years of modernism, reinforces its cultural vocation of being an equipment for all the arts and accessible to all”, he said.
The Parque Estadual Library was created on March 15, 1873, during Imperial Brazil and, at the time, it was called Municipal Public Library. Over the years, it was transferred to different addresses and also changed its name a few times, until receiving its current name in 2014. In 1943, it gained the space where it is currently located, on Avenida Presidente Vargas.
In January 1984, part of its old building was destroyed by fire. Three years later, in March 1987, a new building was inaugurated, with a project signed by the architect Glauco Campello, under the guidance of the anthropologist and then State Secretary of Culture and Vice-Governor, Darcy Ribeiro. Years later, between 2008 and 2012, Campello returned to participate in the work to modernize the BPE with traits that made it more modern and that are known to this day. The information is provided by the Rua Walls project advisory.
