In early 2010, Nair Morna made the crossing of a public art project in the city of Galway, Ireland, to the streets of Santa Maria, located on an island lost somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic. The idea took shape and there are various forms of performance of MAD Space Invaders in the city of Funchal. An artistic intervention that enhances the architectural heritage of the town, with the valuable help of their already about 30 members with an indomitable will to transform neglected and abandoned spaces into real works of art.
In what context arise Madeira Space Invaders?
Roberto Macedo Alves: It was an idea of Morna Nair. The first member of the group, who saw that there was in Ireland a group of artists who came together to make interventions in abandoned and despised spaces and were transformed into mini-cultural center for some time. She thought the concept could be applied to Madera, so she joined a group of friends and create the Space Invaders. The idea was to invade in the optic of having the permission of the authors and owners of the spaces that would allow us to do some interventions.
It is difficult to convince owners and the local authorities to make such interventions?
RMA: Sometimes it is, though now it is becoming easier; because people are begin to attach importance to this concept of public art, because it has worked. Thanks to the impact of the open doors at Rua de Santa Maria, people begin to see that these paintings are good in public spaces. Serves to enhance these buildings and to bring people who are not accustomed to dealing with art and culture in to the day-to-day life, it exhibit works of art in their pathway. Suddenly, the people who live here look at the doors and murals, residents who have never entered an art gallery and you end up creating another kind of feeling for painting. They look at the drawings, analyze, evaluate and give their interpretation, and never before have had the opportunity to enter a museum and now suddenly have another opening for this type of artistic expression. Local authorities are beginning to see his type of intervention with a positive impact and have worked out in an increasingly intense way. In the case of this mural was easier, it is a private building, so that the heirs have authorized the intervention on the facade.
As a rule, you already have an outline of what will make before submitting a request or not?
RMA: Sometimes we explained before to see if it is worth doing the intervention that contact was in charge of Jose Maria Zyberchema. After obtaining the consent of the owners of the building, we took photographs of the façade and how it is a collective work, we combined the different proposals. Each artist submits its intervention individually; someone proposes to draw the lady of the water, for example. Then we have to integrate everything in the front so that there was a connection and stay in the end something coherent. The parts are made in common by all, the bottom is the application of the protective layer, which is most laborious, and then each will have their base to work, develop his individual project that ultimately we have a harmonious whole.
Has the group been invited to do other interventions outside Funchal?
RMA: We are thinking about it, because we can only restrict these activities to Funchal, although it is an innovative concept. Increasingly we find that people are receptive to these ideas of Madera space invaders to make invasions and interventions, a bit all over the island.
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