“Times of Muralism” Project
Times of Muralism is an arts + science project that, since 2019, has been weaving together artistic practices, scientific research, traditional knowledge, and the delicate threads of memory, emotions, dreams, and hopes of the communities where SECOS conducts its research. It is a collective and co-creative project that seeks to reimagine imaginaries around knowledge and a sustainable future through murals that become both mirrors and spaces that nurture dialogue among diverse ways of knowing the socio-ecological systems we inhabit.
The project unfolds in primary schools and technical-professional high schools in seven coastal localities of Chile where the SECOS Millennium Institute carries out research. These schools are the beating heart of the communities of Chungungo, Tongoy, Coliumo, Tubul, Cochamó, Caleta El Manzano, and Hornopirén—coves that stretch across landscapes ranging from the northern desert to the temperate rainforests and fjords of the south.
Our process is iterative, process-based, deliberately slow, and deeply situated. From the earliest conversations to the final brushstrokes, we weave and cultivate relationships so that each mural emerges as an embodied witness to the knowledge, emotions, and memories that have breathed throughout the process: from the territory’s biodiversity, through SECOS’s scientific research, to the stories, culture, and memory of its inhabitants. Students, teachers, fishers, seaweed gatherers, artists, and researchers stand side by side, participating in different phases of the process and shaping collective visions that resonate and expand across the community’s walls.
Complementing the physical murals, Times of Muralism explores layers of augmented reality and mixed reality that expand the ways in which stories, data, and memories can be experienced in the territory. These layers emerge from the same co-creation process: participatory mapping, field observation, and workshops in which students, teachers, fishers, and community members share local knowledge and help define what becomes visible. Activated through a mobile phone, the murals can reveal soundscapes, oral stories, ecological information, and visual narratives that transform school walls and public spaces into active platforms for learning, where scientific research and lived experience meet.
Times of Muralism was created and is led by SECOS Associate Researcher Fernanda Oyarzún, SECOS Adjunct Researcher Genevieve Tremblay, and SECOS Collaborating Artist Alonso Salazar. Over time, the circle of artists who have joined the project at different stages has grown, and we wish to acknowledge them here with deep gratitude: Sol Pacheco, Renata Garretón, Nicolás Sáez, Marco Ammatelli, Andrea Pizarro, Paola Hernández, Felipe Portilla, Hernán Aguilera, Nathan DiPietro (VR mural artist), Jeff Brice (VR mural artist), and Roberto Varas (photography and video).
The project has also flourished thanks to the commitment and dedication of teachers and community members, whom we would like to highlight: Escuela San Andrés de Chungungo (Claudio Zambra); Liceo Carmen Rodríguez de Tongoy (Macarena Contreras, Paula Díaz, Alexis Vallejos, and principal Perla Araya); Escuela Caleta del Medio de Coliumo (principal María Eliana Vega and Fabiola Fernández); Escuela Brisas del Mar de Tubul (teacher Jessenia Miño and fisher Teodoro Leal); Escuela Básica Fronteriza Juan Soler Manfredini (principal Geisha Bonilla); Escuela El Manzano (principal Jacqueline Ribera, teacher Elisa Santander, and aquaculture farmers Maida Gueicha and Erasmo González); and Liceo de Hornopirén (Rodrigo Castillo).
Finally, the project has also become a platform for collaboration with other institutions, including Millennium Nucleus UPWELL, CEAZA, Bienal Concepción Arte & Ciencia, Laboratorio del Antropoceno, and Quiero Mi Barrio Tubul.
