Four Voices for a Museum. Interviews with the manager, neighbors, artists, and curator of the Open-Air Museum in San Miguel, Santiago, Chile

Abstract

The Open-Air Museum in San Miguel is a community-based street art project developed since 2010 in Villa San Miguel, a working-class housing estate built in 1960 on the southern outskirts of Santiago (San Miguel district). The project emerged from within the community as a response to urban decay, neighbourhood stigmatisation, and the threats of abandonment and property speculation affecting the area. Following the awarding of a public project grant within the context of Chile’s Bicentenary celebrations, the painting of ten murals on the housing blocks began, giving rise to a process of urban and cultural activation which, after more than fifteen years, now comprises over 65 murals, more than 7,000 square metres of painted surfaces, and public investment exceeding four billion Chilean pesos.

The interviews gathered in this text address the origins, tensions and future projections of the museum through four key voices: its founder, artists, local residents and the project’s original curator. All of them have played a central role in its development and consolidation. Their testimonies make it possible to understand how this initiative has brought together different urban, community, artistic and territorial experiences, becoming one of the most enduring and significant references for street art in Chile.