Bogota, A Mecca For Street Artists

Much like New York City today, many cities across the world are starting to embrace street art as a celebrated artistic medium- and an attraction that can drive tourism.   In 2018, Bogota is following suit. Famous street artists from across the globe come to paint with Bogota backing but it certainly didn’t start out that way.   

 Even less than 10 years ago, Bogota officials did their best to keep artists from painting the walls of the city.  Previously described, “overzealous” police forces would paint over street art on a regular basis to get rid of it and discourage further painting.  If you wanted to paint you were forced to stealthily attempt to go unnoticed during the night avoiding the Colombian police. One evening, there was a street artist, Diego Felipe Becerra whose life was taken at the hands of the police for unsanctioned painting (although the police depicted Becerra as a robber).  An outraged city, upset over the tragic death of Becerra led to street art grabbing the attention of the public and powerful political leaders igniting a conversation around the importance of street art.  It was because of Becerra’s death, that ultimately, years later, the city changed their laws and street art would not only be legal but sponsored and embraced.

Nowadays there are several tours you can book to visit and learn about the artists behind some of the city’s ever-changing best work.   During our daylong tour of Bogota, we visited many of these commissioned pieces in the Santa Ines and La Candelaria areas.  The Candelaria area is also known as “the old city” since it’s kept its colonial feel.  Over the years though, it has developed a bit of eccentricity and is now home to many of the hosterias for tourists.  La Candelaria is also packed with some of the must-visit museums including the Museo del Oro, Museo Botero, and the Archeological Museum making it easy to combine a day of touring museums with visiting street art.  I hope you enjoy some of our favorites!