From graffiti to opportunity: how the FUERA competition began at Marquesa Gallery
One morning, we came across a graffiti that covered the entire metal closure. In thick yellow letters someone had written “OUT.” We didn’t know who had done it or why, but the message was clear and direct. Our initial reaction was the usual one in the face of such an act: anger, frustration and bewilderment. After so much effort to create an art space in Carabanchel, this fact frustrated us a lot. But instead of simply removing the paint, we decided to turn it around. What if instead of hiding it, we turned it into an opportunity?
The birth of the contest OUTSIDE
This is how the OUTSIDE contest emerged, a public call launched on April 2, 2025. The idea was simple but powerful: to invite urban artists, muralists and visual creators to intervene in the closing of the gallery with a mural work, starting from the term “OUT” itself as a conceptual trigger. More than covering up the act of vandalism, we wanted to re-signify it from art. The winning artist would receive a prize of 500 euros and, most importantly, the opportunity to join the Marquesa Gallery artist team. The contest spread on social networks, and quickly attracted the attention of numerous creators, both in the neighborhood and other parts of the country.
Iker Muro, a mural to stay
The jury decided that the winner of the competition was Iker Muro, a muralist with a long career and a very recognizable style within contemporary urban art. His proposal was selected for its visual power, its direct language and its ability to transform an aggressive message into an expansive image, alive and connected with the identity of the neighborhood. The mural is expected to take place at the end of June, becoming a new hallmark for the gallery and the cultural environment of Carabanchel.
Carabanchel as a creative ecosystem
The project did not go unnoticed in the cultural panorama. Journalist Javier Díaz-Guardiola mentioned the OUT competition in his article for ABC Cultural, “Carabanchel, the district with 1,000 artists”, in which he analyzes the artistic boom of the area and how initiatives like this reinforce its dynamic character. The article recognizes the value of this type of creative responses to the tensions of the urban environment and highlights Marquesa Gallery as an example of an active gallery, involved and connected to its context. You can read the full article here.
Beyond closure: a new beginning
Although the mural of Iker Muro has not yet been painted, his choice has already marked a before and after in the history of the gallery. For us, this contest has been much more than a punctual response: it is a statement of intent. We bet on a gallery open to the environment, which reacts, dialogues and generates real opportunities for artists. The word “OUT” that once appeared as an exclusive message has become a symbol of the opposite: a gateway to creation, the neighborhood and the future of contemporary art.
We will be sharing the process and final result as the date approaches. What began with an anonymous painting will soon become a work that will belong to everyone.
Art can – and should – also be present when we lower the blind.