NYC/Vienna (photos courtesy of inhabitat and Sunboe.com)

I am off on another journey~ I will be gone five weeks; spending one week in Austria scouting locations with Pérola Bonfanti for our next interactive public art installation which will take place in the center of Vienna next fall. Then we will travel to Italy together to check out the Venice Biennale and from there we go to Napoli where I will host Hearts of the World. Hearts of the World is an ongoing collaborative art project involving people from all over the globe, with a special emphasis on children. The project invites people from every culture to express what is in their heart through color and form with the intent of introducing art as a tool to help one realize their passion. While in Italy Perola and I will also paint one of Napoli’s traditional city trolleys. We also want to see Rome, Pompeii and make a pilgrimage to Niki de St. Phalle’s Tarot Garden in Tuscany.

Hearts of the World with the Lower East Side Girls Club in NYC

My last days in NYC were a whirlwind. Only a few weeks ago, Perola, The Free Art Society and I finished up the 13 Portals with the “Behind Portal 13” finale. The 13 Portals was an interactive street art experience combining technology, art, urban space and community. Perola and I painted 13 site-specific, hand painted murals (14 counting Portal 0). Every week on Saturday a new “portal” appeared in a doorway in the East Village, most of them abandoned. Each portal was unveiled in conjunction with a theatrical happening and an interactive challenge giving participants a chance to score one of the 64 keys which unlocked the secrets of the final Portal, 13. The journey began July 13th and finished on October 5th with an event of live music, dancing and the keyholders’ final passage through Portal 13. (Which I will write more about in an upcoming post).

Portal 13 at the “Behind Portal 13” finale. (Photo courtesy of Manny Inoa)

Pulling off The 13 Portals was kind of a miracle. We had very little time and very little money. The project was on a rigorous schedule due to Perola’s limited Visa (she is from Brazil) and it took everything we had to make it happen. Every day was devoted to creating the game, performance, and finishing the large paintings. We managed to sell an original portal and with that money we funded the project, making it through by the skin of our teeth. 

So when we received word from an Austrian architect and art-lover that he wanted to bring the project to Vienna, and that we would be able to work with a substantial budget to make it happen– We were overjoyed. It is a blessing to be able to work with a budget especially since I am used to creating with minimal funds. We are remixing the concept to create a new game with a new set of rules. We will use a large portion of our budget toward technology; implementing augmented reality and building an app that participants will use to play the game. 

As soon as I found out we would go to Vienna to scout locations I started thinking about Italy. I’ve dreamed of going there for so long. The art, the culture, the food, the architecture… I would be so close~ I had to go! And what could I paint there? On my way to Cuba last January I made a friend from Napoli. We kept in touch and when I learned I would go to Vienna, I asked him if he could talk to Napoli’s department of transportation on my behalf to see if it could be possible to paint one of their city trams. He arranged a meeting with them and showed them a photo of the cable car I painted in Chile from National Geographic. That was the magical key. They said yes and now I have the permission to make some more moving art.

The National Geographic image of the cable car I painted in Chile

I invited Perola to collaborate with me on the painting and we are already obsessively discussing ideas. But we will wait to decide until we arrive in Napoli to absorb the culture and the feel of the city. We will have to paint quickly so that we can see more of Italy than just Napoli’s train station!

The type of tram we will paint in Napoli (image courtesy of Wikimedia)

But first… Vienna! I have to admit I know very little about Vienna and due to my last few crazy weeks in NY, doing research has been the last thing on my mind. But its fun to dive into a city not really knowing what to expect. Free of preconceived ideas, a new world opens up to you.

I will be writing about my adventures several times a week. The next one will be on the ground in Vienna and I am determined to crack the surface of the city to experience the “real Vienna” beyond the realm of tourists. I will let you know what I find… More soon~