Graffiti Artists Paint Trains Legally in Buenos Aires

On Sunday, June 28th, 25 Argentine graffiti artists painted ten abandoned train cars in an event called “Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015.”

Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.com Train car painted by Nerf, Dame and Cabe
Nearly three hundred kilometers west of the city of Buenos Aires lies Junin. In the late 1800s, Junin was transformed by the construction of railroads that connected it to Mendoza, to San Juan and San Luis, and to the city of Buenos Aires. Because of this it grew exponentially and is now the most important city in the northwest of the province of Buenos Aires. Now local history fuses with urban art in “Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015.”
Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.comTrain cars pre-graffiti
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Madxis, a local graffiti artist who was one of the organizers of the event, tells us how it came about: “We’ve been interested in the idea of painting these trains since we started painting graffiti around the year 2001. But it wasn’t until 2010 when we had a conversation with some representatives from the railway institutions. They gave us permission to paint the trains, but for some reason or another it never actually happened. And just recently, five years later, the railway managers got in touch with us and asked us to paint the wagons that had been left abandoned.”
The train cars have been out of service since 1989, but they are visible from one of the main roads of the city.
 Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.comPier, Nube and Roger

Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.comChaman (Mar del Plata)

Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.comLacast (Rosario)

Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.comDame and Cabe detail

Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.comUriel Crow and Sen Art

Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.comSen Art and Madxis

Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.comDesto and Miyagui

Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.comOctubre, Madxis and Desto

Exhib Graff Trains Junin 2015 street art buenos aires buenosairesstreetart.com Swam and Teko (Entre Ríos)

train graffiti buenos airesBuos and Itzu (unfinished)

Initially only Gerardo Castillo and Madxis were invited to participate, but the two decided to invite more artists and friends to paint with them. The group consisted entirely of Argentines: Dame, Cabe, Nerf, Teko, Swam, Dres, Gera, Miyagui, Shuf, Brook, Lacast, Chaman, Iztu, Buhos, Roger, Nube, Pier, Uriel Crow, Zear, Desto, Oktubre, Sen Art from the Unidos Crew, Roman and Madxis.

Says Madxis: “This was the first event of its kind in Latin America. There was something similar in Brazil but the artists were contracted and their designs were done on a request basis. We painted with total creative freedom.”

Check out more info and photos on Madxis’s Facebook page.

Buenos Aires Street Art and Graffiti – BA Street Art