São Paulo, a city widely recognized its thriving urban art scene, will host the first edition of “Fest.AR – Graffitis Apagados de São Paulo”, an unprecedented virtual reality event in South America. The initiative seeks to rescue works by 13 artists from different street art variations that have marked the city’s cultural life in the last four decades, aiming to heighten the historical heritage of the municipality and promote a constructive dialogue between the population and the city itself, in a way never before seen.

Fest.AR is an iconic event that promotes the rescue of São Paulo’s cultural heritage through the virtual delivery of ephemeral works such as graffiti, lettering, and murals in points of Avenida Paulista and surrounding areas, which were erased at some point by the natural evolution that cities experience, especially big ones like São Paulo.

Organized by MOVA and conceived by multimedia artist Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro, a researcher in digital memory and contemporary heritage, the festival also brings curatorship from cultural producer Vera Santana, and artist Prila Maria.

Prila was responsible for the entire research process, cataloging, and inviting 3 female protagonists with high relevance in the region: Loba Gi, Sujeitas, and OPS (Vismoart); in addition to graffiti artist Subtu. The festival also features the works of 6emeia, Jaime Prades, Bueno Caos, Mauro Neri, Nina Pandolfo, Nove, SHN, Tinho, and Rui Amaral.

The event will be live until December 28 and consists of a simple process: to experience Fest.AR, the user needs to download an application for free on their cell phone (available on Android and soon on iOS), the application will indicate the physical locations of the old pieces of art through geolocation options, by directing your cell phone to the indicated location, it will be possible to view the work that was once there, photograph it and film it, even with you on the picture, as if it were current reality, providing interactivity with the times that only current technology can achieve.

The festival’s progress is being updated through the Instagram profile @_fest.ar/, and, additionally Fest.AR promotes free virtual workshops through their social media accounts. These are given by Giovanna Graziosi Casimiro and started on December 5, with theoretical content and practical activities related to augmented reality as an instrument of urban occupation.

With 3 more weeks left, Fest.AR promises to be a great experience to both fans of street art and VR enthusiasts, and represents an important step in the evolution of urban art, making us wonder about the possibilities that new technologies could bring on how we appreciate it.