Angurria and the interesting street art academy project

We went to the Dominican Republic where we got in contact with Angurria. The famous Caribbean artist has his own store in Santo Domingo: Errede Store where, among other things, he has launched an initiation course in the art of aerosol: Street Art Academy. He himself gives us some hints as to what is going down in the DR...

You are a recognized artist in your country, but could you tell us about your journey and what you do exactly, for those who aren’t familiar with your work?

My journey to the murals comes from a very different source. I have developed my professional life as a designer, advertising art director and illustrator in several agencies within the Dominican Republic for more than 15 years. It wasn't until a co-worker, Poteleche, who was already painting in the streets, invited me to paint with him that a whole new universe opened up for me and I took my first steps into urban art. That's where I got acquainted with the spray paint tool and I had to learn how to use it from scratch. Since then I have shared my heart with two passions: graphic design and painting in the streets.

Tell us how you see the art scene, muralism, and graffiti in the Dominican Republic.

Although the graffiti and muralism scene in the DR has been around for a long time, it was not until 12 or 15 years ago that there was an explosion of new proposals and exponents in the scene. Social networks have allowed many local urban artists to project their work internationally and shine a light on our country, whereas, other generations did not have that possibility. Our scene is still incipient, but its growth has been continuous and of a good quality in the last decade. 

Since when have you been in charge of the Erredé store and what is its purpose?

Erredé Store was our gateway into the business world, both for my partner and me. In fact, our business name is EPREI, pronounced like "spray" because of the cans. We started informally with our first order in July 2019. After, I participated in a mural festival in Perú, while I was theré, Entes, an artist friend and manager, encouraged me to contact the right person to boost the art scene in our country. I came home with that idea and, together with my partner, we made it a reality. She put together the structure and in less than 4 months we were already working with a physical store and everything, which has allowed us to grow not only in can sales but we are already selling clothing and other materials, we also develop mural and cultural projects in general, we work in graphic design illustrations both inside and outside the country.

We see on the store's Instagram feed that you are counting heavily on female presence. Are there many female artists?

There are not as many as we would like, but they are becoming more and more and we are counting on it. Every time we see women interested in learning how to use the tools in one of our street art workshops, we get very excited. The schema is definitely changing, we are passionate about contributing and being part of that change.

We also know that you are trying to promote art through workshops and courses. How did the idea come up and what’s the response been like?

In the Dominican Republic, or ‘Erredé’ (DR), as I call it, the market for people using this tool was limited. When we started, we were very daring because we didn't know how many people really wanted to use it in their artwork, nor did we know anything about the market, just myself and a few friends were using it. MTN paints are a very versatile tool and allow us to participate in urban art projects, as well as artistic projects in general, such as set design, film, crafts, and much more. We decided to teach others how to use it, to make it part of them, and the response has been incredible. Many people are interested, we have already graduated three groups of students, and then we offer them to be a part of the artistic projects we manage, so it ends up being profitable and beneficial for everyone.

Could you tell us how ERREDÉ Street Art Academy works and how it has affected the art scene in the city and the country?

Of course, we developed three modules: Rookie, Skilled and Pro, from basic to advanced. Each module has two instructors who are veteran spray paint artists, which makes it very practical and full of tricks based on their experience. Our curriculum includes topics such as color theory, spray control and type, strokes, pressure and depth, doll play, and then we move on to different caps and their uses, degradations, different surfaces and adhesion, finishes, etc. The last module is a real collaborative project, a mural that the students paint guided by the instructors, benefiting a non-profit foundation or a small business that could not afford a mural. In this way, we not only foster discipline and work ethic, but also provide the opportunity for those in need to receive a mural.

Does classic graffiti share space with muralism and urban art?

Many of the main Dominican muralists and urban artists come from graffiti, which allows them to navigate within both worlds. Local artists such as Dovente, Shak, Gabz, among others have developed their techniques from classic graffiti and have been able to develop a career in muralism without losing respect or their graffiti essence. These examples send a message to the new generations that both scenes can coexist in harmony. Another important detail is that in the DR there are many walls available for painting, which means that we have to fight for spaces in the streets to customize them.