And so we’ve reached 2010 and as a first post I’d like to show you guys some stats and also some funny facts from you, the users of this website. Believe me, there are some funny ones!

As the year is coming to an end, I believe it’s important to remember what has passed by this website along the year and also to make a tradition for the next year to come.
So whether it’s a Portuguese event or a Portuguese artwork, as long as it was done by Portuguese artists even if outside of Portugal, I’m setting here my highlights for the year 2009.
I’ll be splitting this into two categories with the events first, and second the artists who made a bigger fuss in this year! So, carry on inside ladies and gentlemen…

Can someone explain me why I see more and more porn female Santas, rather than the big fat bastard nowadays? I know a lot of guys were deceived as children that Santa did exist, only to later find out that it was all a lie. And then, they grow up and the feeling that they were deceived for so long, grows into a bigger, kinkier motive… One with a sluty female Santa, that they want to punish for that night. Might that be the reason? Hum…
To all the followers of this blog out there, I wish you a sincere Happy Xmas 2009. To all the other ones… Hum… Well I wish that you do start following this blog, and a So So Xmas… For sure Santa can tell you haven’t been in your best behavior, eheh. And come back next week, as from now on this website will have an annual look back at the best Portuguese events and artists brought to you on this site. Stay tuned…

Last night was once again freezing cold. Dropped by VSP to catch the finished works of David Walker, and ended up by seeing even more new work as he was starting on another piece outside. At the same time, the battles were taking place with Leonor setting her audio-noise-crowd-meter to find out the winners teams. A great night spent, watching the crowd go crazy with all the chalkboard drawings, and catching lot’s of new work by David Walker. Had the pleasure to talk with him throughout the weekend, and I must say it was an honor. We shall meet again for sure.

Open almost daily, VSP is becoming an easy spot to catch up with new graffiti works every week. Passed by yesterday for another small photo shoot while people where painting listening to groovy James Brown like sounds, and our very own Sam The Kid. “Vai a Carina… CAAAA-RI-NAA! CAAA-RI-NNAAA!”

This post comes with a week delay, but not having internet at home makes it all harder. That said, here’s the whole story inside and a bunch of links to both the inauguration day (26th) and the car painting day (29th) pictures.

I got there just in time. Works were just starting out, so I basically had the whole school to myself just to give it that one last snapshot before it quickly starts to fade away into brand new colors. And believe or not, I only knew 30% of the school when I was little, being that 50% of the building was actually the residence of one of the school “presidents”, and the rest was just off limits to students. As I start to get inside the school, one of the very first questions Leonor did to me was “in which year did you studied here? 91? 92? Cause we still have some old files.” but I quickly replied, “nah, no way you’ll have my files”. So we get going inside and I just couldn’t believe it. My class room was at the time working for 2 grades at the same time and it was huge, but nowadays when you grow up it’s like “how the hell was that big?”. Memories started jumping to my head… Entering the classroom and singing the national anthem, making a queue to wash our teeth. Yeap, this was the room alright. After doing some field reckon and taking some of my pics inside the school, I went back to the room Leonor was in, and Igor bursts in the door with a hand full of files and asks my full name. I couldn’t believe it, but there it was. My class file from 92/93. I opened the file and checked out the names and indeed it was my 4th grade class. I was appalled. I was back to my roots 16 years after my last year there. So, today all I want to share with you is my school before VSP starts to take form. Pics? Right this way…

This years Visual Street Performance (VSP) has a special meaning to me, being that the Lisboa 2009 edition will take place in my childhood school. Visual Street Performance if you don’t know it by now, is a yearly exhibition of some of the finest, most active graffiti artists of Portugal, composed by several members of the LEG crew and others, always with special guest artists along the process.
Many memories show up when remembering the days, and this will surely be an outstanding event as usual. Being that this is a special place to me, I decided to contact Leonor Viegas (who has been working with the artists in the past editions of VSP) to make a special photo preview/teasers of the upcoming VSP Lisboa.
Seeing this place abandoned as it was after the years, it gives me great pleasure to see it taking new forms to a new breed, therefore making me want to be present for this time of change.
Catch back soon…

Some names seem to have been out on other news websites, so I believe this is correct. Aside from portuguese writters Nomen, Mosaik, Ram, Klit, Time and Mar, this meeting of styles will also have the participation of artists System, Rough, Nash and Sonsi. These are just some names you can catch @ Seixal (old Mundet factories) from 50 writters that can be found this weekend. Stay tuned

Catarina Pestana just made the news, when she decided to create an installation for Experimenta Design ‘09, where a statue appears with a bonner, and EXD decided to censure the piece. I loved the concept for this installation, as explained by Catarina:
“I know it’s provocative, but I wanted to express the exact moment when I was invited and the excitement that came from that request.”Traduzido a grosso modo!
Do it for the pleasure of it! Clap clap