On the Walls and the Web, A Venezuelan Art Collective Supports Socialism

[Judi Lynn]

On the Walls and the Web, A Venezuelan Art Collective Supports Socialism
Translation posted 1 August 2014 0:01 GMT

Art is a notoriously powerful political weapon. In Venezuela, a group calling itself the “Ejército Comunicacional de Liberación” (the “Army for the Freedom of Communication”) is using graffiti and other forms of visual art to support the Bolivarian Revolution, a leftist social movement launched by late Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. The organization reappropriates urban spaces with paintings, reclaiming the walls of buildings for local communities.

The ECL promotes urban interventions on its blog, No Sabemos Disparar (We Don't Know How to Shoot), where the group says it pursues three main goals:

The Ejército Comunicacional de Liberación is a force of constant information and reformulation; a handful of young people taking up “paper arms,” who, by means of popular communication, are committed to developing new, mindful, and responsible aesthetics that will clearly and effectively support social transformation and wealth redistribution in Venezuela. Our actions follow three fundamentals: excitement, formation, and sustainability.

The ECL also conducts training activities in collaboration with other groups and communities around Venezuela. These exercises take place in public spaces, like the one pictured below in Elorza, in the state of Apure:

During the Elorza 2014 festivities, we had the opportunity to pay a humble tribute to the comandante eterno (the "eternal commander," the late Hugo Chavez), and engage with the SOU, SUC, Otro Beta, and Nueva Casika (other art collectives that produce similar murals). We would like to have accomplished more, but we're sure there will be other opportunities.

More:
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/08/01/venezuela-bolivarian-revolution-art-ejercito-comunicacional-de-liberacion/