Spain is currently dealing with multiple terror attacks: one occurred on Thursday afternoon in Barcelona's Las Ramblas when a van rammed into a crowd of people, killing 14 and leaving injured around 130; yesterday a car also ran over two officers outside Barcelona. Today, in the early morning hours, a second vehicle attack left one dead and six wounded in the seaside town of Cambrils. An explosion that took place on Wednesday night in a house in Alcanar is now also being treated as linked with the attacks.
It is incredibly hard thinking about beautiful and fun things in the current climate, but one way to fight against terrorism and the other threats of our times including racism, bigotry, prejudice, misogyny and, well, US President Donald Trump, could be using the power of creativity.
Arquine, a platform focusing on architecture launched for example an experimental project that will be taking place on 25th August in Mexico City.
The event has a very symbolic name: it is indeed entitled "Guerilla Efímera" (Ephemeral Guerrilla) and it revolves around the possibility of activating a public space, in this case the Avenida Ámsterdam, through a series of actions and interventions based on surprise.
The final aim of this experimental activity is to release people's collective power and energies, involving them in a series of interventions in which they can use different materials (yarns, glitter, coloured powders and even items of clothing...) and techniques to reclaim a space. It sounds like an encouraging idea to fill the streets with joy, colours and the collective power of ordinary people and we should maybe take inspiration from this initiative to find new ways to architecturally reactivate the streets.
In a way a woman did it today single-handedly when, while observing a minute of silence at Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona, she held a sign that read: "I sing today for those voices that you have dared to shut up. We are not afraid."
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