I was so excited when Alex pinged me with a link to this video about her latest project. I had no idea that she was doing this and it’s absolutely amazing. She will be creating 15 gigantic murals themed around the 500th anniversary of the first round the world voyage, the Magellan-El Cano circumnavigation (1519 – 1522). See those buildings up there? Those will be her canvases. Located in Calle Tarfia, facing the river it is expected to set a Guinness world record.

Below you can see virtual depictions of how they will look when finished. Impressive, right?

I first met Alexandra by chance ten years ago when she was starting out here working as a “graffiti artist for hire” painting shop and bar shutters so that they wouldn’t get vandalised by taggers. One day I saw her painting a bar shutter while out for a walk on a Sunday afternoon and stopped to chat and we’ve been friends ever since. She once even joined one of my tapas tours in progress while “on the job” painting the shutters at Bodeguita Romero.

And while Alexandra still does the occasional shutter art, she is now also an award-winning artist recognised both here and abroad. An amazing accomplishment for someone who arrived here from Rome in 2010 with a young daughter to start a new life. I am quite in awe of not only her talent but also her energy and spirit. You can check out her website here…

Alexandra del Bene

Also posted on Azahar Sevilla