Where will Andrea Crespi’s next artwork be?

2 years ago

For several years now, we’ve been keeping an eye on the work of Andrea Crespi, whom we could describe as “a physical and digital artist“—as stated on his website. Optical illusion is his specialty, applied by the artist across various mediums, including murals. All of this serves his mission: to deliver strong messages that can provoke reflection on urgent issues, both social and individual. In other words, to use his own words, what he does is “a materialization of contemporary cultural changes.” This often translates into international missions, where he creates large-scale public works to reach an ever-wider audience (in addition to his social media following, which already boasts more than 36k followers).
After his latest mural in Tanzania—”You Can Be Whatever You Want To Be”—today Andrea Crespi is engaged in another of his extra-European operations, specifically in Central America, in the nation of El Salvador, in San Salvador. We caught up with his photographer and videographer Stefano Bosatelli—who has previously worked with Crespi on the docufilm “Make Art, Not War”—to discover everything about the location where he will be working. While waiting to show you the completed artwork, the weather situation they encountered, as seen from the photographs, isn’t ideal. El Salvador is currently in its rainy season, and in recent weeks, an unusual natural phenomenon has caused it to rain incessantly for days. “The weather isn’t on our side, but we’ll figure out how to proceed without losing heart, hoping that the sun will shine again soon. Unexpected challenges are part of the game,” Crespi explains to us.

A neighborhood in transformation (thanks to art)

The goal of the CMS Foundation project involving Andrea Crespi is to renew public spaces through urbanism, landscaping, and art. The area of interest for his work is a multifamily residential complex built in the 1970s with a rather tragic history. Until a few years ago, gangs dominated the area, and the thought of entering these spaces was unthinkable. Today, things seem to be changing. The intention of the higher-ups is to turn the district into an urban reference point, recognizable for its public art, design, and green spaces, by involving various artists. This makes us believe that the project will truly revolutionize both the appearance and livability of the area. We just have to wait to see Crespi’s artwork and learn more about this place.