I’d like to introduce you to MUTA: a cross-disciplinary, multinational collective seeking to create a sense of place. Let’s unpack that.
Where We Come From
Our story begins in Buenos Aires, where MUTA was born as an ephemeral cultural house. Within Argentina’s capital city, the construction-approval process is cumbersome, and developers often opt to board up uninhabited buildings to deter squatters. But the founders of MUTA had a different idea.
Using connections with an architecture firm, they moved into a vacant home set for destruction; they called the project MUTA — literally translated as “mutate.” And over the course of a year and a half, the house transformed into a cultural center hosting more than 45 events — art and music festivals, debates and workshops, neighborhood gatherings and meals. But the project was always meant to be temporary. And when it came time for the demolition, MUTA’s residents decided to gather some friends and take our shared experience to other cities in the Americas, carrying out artistic interventions and urban activism.
First, some context about this new phase of the project.
What We Do
The work of MUTA centers on placemaking: a multifaceted approach to planning, designing and managing public spaces. We focus on local communities’ assets and inspiration to activate their public spaces, utilizing art to encourage participation and reflection. The process of collective planning is vital to the project; everything we do is a result of residents’ ideas. And if residents so chose, they can replicate this methodology in future works throughout their neighborhoods.
We kicked off the MUTA tour in Quito, Ecuador, within the underserved neighborhood of Toctiuco. Just a short drive from downtown, Toctiuco is home to more than 17,000 people. The neighborhood wraps around Volcán Pichincha and overlooks the entire city — a landscape of green, gray and speckled lights. Although brimming with vistas and community, Toctiuco lacks public transportation, sanitation and recreational spaces. The residents want to change that, and we’re working together to revive deteriorated public spaces.
While I was still farming in Chile, my fantastic colleagues focused on collective mapping with adults and children, exploring their perceptions and stories about the neighborhood. We took walking tours and held brainstorming workshops, which allowed us to identify the highest potential public spaces for artistic interventions. These interventions comprise murals, street furniture, urban gardens, signage, tourist routes and places for children to play safely.
When I Arrived
I landed in Quito full-hearted and happy after nearly four weeks of sleeping in a tent and showering outdoors. The day I arrived, I stowed my hyper-organized backpack in the corner of the living room. A day later, my friend Mati turned to me and politely asked, “Alicia, could you please put your stuff into a closet?” A CLOSET! Imagine the luxury!
Quickly, readily, I settled into the routine of working in Toctiuco and living alongside some seriously cool people.
Before arriving, I knew only a few members of the MUTA team. But that quickly changed. Over the past month, I’ve grown increasingly thankful to be surrounded by these mega-talented individuals. Here are our people.
The Activator
Mati, an architect from Argentina, is the first person I met from MUTA. Two years ago, we and a few others took a road trip together from Buenos Aires to Mar del Plata. He drove, and during our late-night return to the city, he insisted we all stay up and tell our life stories. He also asked us a question: “What event would you like to host at MUTA?”
(Eventually, at MUTA the cultural house, I hosted a film screening and wheat-pasting event. The film, “The Wonder Sound: A World Unfolding,” covers the creation and installation of a three-story fort built by Wes Bruce, a mastermind artist I’ve known since childhood. The night connected worlds that sometimes feels distinct: my life and relationships in Buenos Aires, and those in California. That night, my worlds blended; my friends witnessed each other’s projects, talked over Skype and created art together.)
I’ll always think of Mati as a person who asks good questions. He was also the person to reach out and tell me about MUTA’s current iteration as a tour throughout the Americas. From that very first email, I was on board.
Mati — with his enthusiasm and passion and drive — knows how to create excellent projects. From these ideas, from his personal activation, others want to participate.
The Colorist
Sasha, a muralist from Buenos Aires, is the second MUTAnte I met. It had to have been during an event at the house, where he and Mati lived for the 18 months of its existence as a cultural house.
Here in Toctiuco, Sasha is painting murals throughout the neighborhood. One piece features José, a long-time Toctiuco resident with a quiet pride. One night as we were all cleaning up, a group of 30 or so people climbed up to José’s mural. They told us they were his family, and that they came to see their father’s and uncle’s and grandfather’s face on a wall.
Sasha — with his keen eye for color — witnesses moments and then creates yet more beautiful moments.
The Builder
Agustina, an architect from Uruguay, is the only person I met here in Quito. She’s also the person I’ve been rooming with for the past month. Back in Montevideo, she and a business partner run ciudadN.lab, a think tank focused on planning and designing cities. Thanks to this background, Agus is adept at working alongside children and teens, imagining cities of the future.
I once observed her sitting in a plaza, looking at its vacant spaces and corners, envisioning what we could build. And now, she’s working with Mati to construct different pieces of outdoor furniture: planters, signage, seating and bookcases, to name just a few.
The Visionary
Rodri, a filmmaker from Paraguay, once told me that he often sees life as movie. Scenes, characters, themes, shots to capture and craft into a narrative.
He and I work together on MUTA’s communications team, and I’ve delighted in the energy he devotes to his art. Here’s an example. While living in in Quito, I’ve been waking up early to give online English classes to kids in China (gotta fund this somehow!). One morning, I woke up at 6 a.m. to find Rodri at his computer — where he’d sat all night with Red Bull and wracking creativity — making a short video about the MUTA project.
The Poet
Florencia, a literature professor from Argentina, is a tiny person with a big mind. We recently sat down together for an interview featured in the online arts and culture mag La La Lista; we talked about her love of literature and her Instagram account Leer Argentinos.
I asked her what she’d tell someone who was considering a project like Leer Argentinos or MUTA, and I loved her reply.
I would advise to take up space. To send yourself.
My education taught me how to work as an individual and an academic. It’s very much about sitting down, reading, investigating. So taking literature and bringing it to Instagram, or giving a workshop, or bringing literature to the street, I think it has to do with exploring. Exploring your own profession, and above all, connecting yourself with your most primordial desires for why you chose this path. Sometimes you go to college and get put in a little box. I’m a fanatic for university education, but I think it’s sometimes necessary to take your education and continue to construct it yourself.
So play. Explore. And if what you’re doing isn’t making you happy, look for a way back — because there’s always a way back. Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself.
Florencia Savarino, March 21 interview for La La Lista
I think she summed up why we’re all here: to explore, to learn, to connect.
What’s Next
As always, MUTA will continue to mutate. At the end of this week, our time in Toctiuco wraps up with a street festival, celebrating the work of the neighborhood with food, music and film. Afterward, a couple members of the current group need to head home. I also have a flight back to California — in just under a week. But I’ve decided to stay on a bit longer; there are too many lessons left to explore.
The idea is to continue working our way north, eventually ending up in California. It’s strange to think I’ve been living elsewhere for nearly three years. It’s stranger yet to imagine moving closer to where I come from. For now, I’m enjoying the journey. Lingering in the spaces in between, traveling back home.
💕😃
SO awesome!!