MULAFEST: International Urban Trends Festival
MULAFEST, organized by MULA and IFEMA, aims to be a platform of expression for those who have made their passion a way of life.
The coolest national and international initiatives in the world of tattoo, the customization of motorcycles, skateboarding, BMX, dance and music will all convene at the Feria de Madrid from the 12th to the 15th of July in an environment which will encourage visitor participation in all areas and activities.
MULAFEST philosophy: to connect professionals, amateurs and the general public in an unprecedented collaborative environment.
This morning at the Callao Cinema, MULAFEST – the first gathering of urban trends in Madrid – was officially unveiled. Organized by MULA and IFEMA, the event is unprecedented in size and stands out for the sheer quantity of disciplines that will be on show and the amount of activities planned – all of which will come together in the same participatory space.
MULA is a collective born in Madrid that brings together people from different areas to unite around a common project: to share different fringe-dwelling lifestyles and artistic disciplines with the general public in a way that gives them a very public spotlight.
The festival will be held at the Feria de Madrid (IFEMA), on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th of July, 2012 and will focus on the following areas: MUSIC, ART, DANCE, CHAOS (Skate and BMX), GARAGE and TATTOO. A 6,000m2 skate park, the opportunity to experiment with tattooing machines or take master dance classes led by leading national and international figures are just some of the activities that will exemplify MULAFEST’s philosophy: facilitating contacts between professionals, amateurs and the general public in an unprecedented collaborative environment.
In addition, the MULAFEST musical project, organized in collaboration with La Noche En Vivo will offer emerging musicians and bands the possibility to play on different mini-stages provided by MULAFEST. All participating bands will enter a competition, and those that generate the biggest audiences and the most buzz will be eligible to play in some of La Noche en Vivo’s venues on the dates that MULAFEST is celebrated.
Four of the Feria de Madrid’s pavilions will play host to the development of these activities, which will convert an indoor space with the relevant equipment and facilities into the perfect environment for participants.
MULAFEST has the special collaboration of Callao City Lights, which will become the ground zero pavillion of the festival and will be the location for organized debates, conferences and a spectrum of samples of the various issues – right in the epicentre of the city. In addition, Metro de Madrid will host another a set of introductory MULAFEST events in several major stations of the network.
TATTOO
After several years in waiting, Madrid will once again hold an international tattoo convention, but this time it will be under the guiding hand of MULA. The secrets of tattoo culture will be exclusively shared with the public over a 8,700 m2 space. Anyone (willing to) will be able to get tattooed in the 150 booths set up for 4 days by top professional tattoo artists, prestigious guests such as the Horiken family from Japan, or the renowned tattooist Chime Tatau Tahiti. There will also be accompanying seminars and outreach activities aimed at spreading knowledge about the art of tattooing.
CHAOS
In CHAOS, the protagonist is anyone who brings their bike or skateboard and is willing to experiment, communicate and find inspiration wherever they happen to be traveling around the city. MULAFEST will reveal a 5,000 m2 indoor skate and BMX park so that fans of these two sports can let loose and show off their best tricks and moves. This indoor space will be theirs. The ambassadors of this section will be Sergio Layos – a major reference in the world of BMX in Spain, and Jesus de Pedro, one of the best skaters in our country. In this area of the festival there will also be competitions, international contests, workshops, exhibitions and a filming and editing school to show how to best shoot your next skate video.
THE GARAGE
In the festival’s huge garage, lovers of motorcycles, classic American cars and motorsport will be able to see firsthand some of the best builders’ designs. Those on show will be Sergio Bayarri, Ricky Lopez, Per Nielsen and Roland Sands, and custom-paint artists such as Bob Spina or Masanobu Nakane. Motorbike construction and customizations will be performed live, there will be test rides for bikes, exhibitions of leading historical brands, a draw to win a unique Chopper created exclusively for MULA, and a massive concentration of bikes from all over Spain. Leading artists and designers in the field of customization will exhibit their work for the first time both locally and globally in an unprecedented competition at MULAFEST 2012’s International Bike Show. This will amount to the largest concentration of manufactures our country has ever seen and will be bolstered by a substantial prize pool of cash and products.
DANCE
The MULAFEST DANCE area will be a platform of expression for dancers, choreographers and lovers of dance in all its styles – especially those at the cutting-edge of dance. The grand attraction of the DANCE area will be the competition Win +2, the first championship that adds contestants instead of eliminating them. An unprecedented choreography challenge put on in an unmatchable venue: Madrid’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week pavilion. There will also be master classes taught by some of the best national and international choreographers (Pau Vázquez, Ruben Nsue, Rocío Molina, Chevi Muraday, Tony Escartín, Sergio Alcover), who will give classes to all levels and in all styles of dance. Attendees will also have a free creative space so that they will be able to enjoy exhibitions, lectures, seminars, audiovisuals, and a spectacular closing gala hosted by Perfordance.
MUSIC
Anyone may register to actively participate in MULAFEST’s musical component – whether it be playing or singing at the various indoor and outdoor locations coordinated by La Noche en Vivo’s musical circuit. Participants who generate the biggest audiences will have the opportunity to share the stage at night with the artists scheduled to play on La Noche en Vivo’s line-up. The amateur musical ‘aperitif’ before the festival will be served in the Metro Madrid on the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th of July in seven major stops and interchanges of the city’s Metro. To top all this off, La Noche en Vivo has also scheduled a free calendar of concerts with renowned artists that will begin this May.
INFILTRATED ART
At the various MULAFEST activities and initiatives, live art will slowly but surely infiltrate the festival in collaboration with several key spaces around the city. Building and DIY silkscreen workshops will be held at the festival and artists such as Hola Por Qué will effectively move their entire workshop into the space during the festival – establishing a specially designated space of research and experimentation with screen printing and graphics. The LIEBRE Gallery, a space for young, emerging and multidisciplinary artists originally conceived as an exhibition, distribution and marketing concept for contemporary art will offer different activities and live installations from outstanding artists in the national and international art scene. IAM Gallery (Ink and Movement) will be charged with overseeing exhibitions and live-painting jam sessions by local and international post-graffiti artists and the Boa Mistura outfit will take over the pavilion with specially commissioned murals during the festival. And finally, this section will be completed with the exhibition ‘What's urban art all about; street art or graffiti?’ – an explanatory sample using image and text, which offers an educational journey through the history of urban art, its development, characteristics, milestones and protagonists.
MORE INFORMATION / INTERVIEW REQUESTS:
Ana Uruñuela (IFEMA) anau@ifema.es /629644968 | Lola Sanz (MULA) lola.sanz@mulared.org /616915382
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