TIEMPOS DE MURALISMO
Tiempos de Muralismo is an arts + science project that, since 2019, has been weaving together artistic practices, scientific research, traditional wisdom, and the delicate threads of memory, emotion, and hope. It is a collective and co-creative attempt to reimagine knowledge and sustainable futures—through murals that become both mirrors and spaces to hold nourishing dialogues between diverse ways of knowing.
Tiempos de Muralismo is an arts + science project that, since 2019, has been weaving together artistic practices, scientific research, traditional wisdom, and the delicate threads of memory, emotion, and hope. It is a collective and co-creative attempt to reimagine knowledge and sustainable futures—through murals that become both mirrors and spaces to hold nourishing dialogues between diverse ways of knowing.
Our process is iterative, purposefully slow, and rooted in place. From the first hesitant conversations to the final brushstrokes of paint, we weave and cultivate relationships so that each mural emerges as an embodied witness of the knowledge, emotions, and memories that have breathed through the process—from the biodiversity of its territory, to scientific research, to lived stories. Students, teachers, fishermen and fisherwomen, seaweed gatherers, artists, and researchers stand side by side, shaping collective visions that ripple across community walls.
The journey began in 2019 in Tongoy, at Liceo Carmen Rodríguez, born from a community request to reimagine some of the arts + science activities I had designed. Together with muralist Alonso Salazar, interdisciplinary artist Genevieve Tremblay, and myself—then a researcher at the Millennium Nucleus MUSELS (today SECOS)—we created the first mural. When the pandemic arrived, halting our gatherings, the project responded by opening yet another door: experiments in virtual and augmented reality, keeping the thread of collaboration alive across distance and sparking multiple spin-off projects.
Over time, the circle of artists who have joined at different stages has widened, and I cannot but name 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), and Roberto Varas (photography and video). The project has also flourished thanks to the heart and dedication of teachers and community members, whom I would like to highlight: Escuela San Andrés de Chungungo (Claudio Zambra); Liceo Carmen Rodríguez of Tongoy (Macarena Contreras, Paula Díaz, Alexis Vallejos, and director Perla Araya); Escuela Caleta del Medio de Coliumo (director María Eliana Vega and Fabiola Fernández); Escuela Brisas del Mar de Tubul (teacher Jessenia Miño and fisherman Teodoro Leal); Escuela El Manzano (director Jacqueline Ribera, teacher Elisa Santander, and aquaculturists Maida Gueicha and Erasmo González); and Liceo Hornopirén (Rodrigo Castillo).
Finally, the project has also become a way to collaborate with other institutions, such as the Millennium Nucleus UPWELL, CEAZA, the Bienal Concepción Arte & Ciencia, Laboratorio del Antropoceno, and Quiero Mi Barrio Tubul.
A selection of press articles, catalog entries, and event documentation highlights the trajectory of Tiempos de Muralismo across different contexts of art, science, and community collaboration. From news coverage and interviews to academic collections and international exhibitions, these resources offer multiple entry points to explore the project’s processes and impacts. You can also visit the virtual gallery hosted on Artsteps to experience the works and stories online of the first period of the project: Artsteps – Tiempos de Muralismo
References
Mons, S., Oyarzun, F. X., Martínez, C., Tremblay, G. G., Gelcich, S., Farías, L., Romero, P., Manríquez, V., Sepúlveda, C., Bonet, M., Guerrero, N. F., Inzunza, S., & Farías, A. (2025). Positioning blue justice at local scales: Insights for transdisciplinarity through art-science integration. Ecology and Society, 30(1), 35. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-15852-300135
Oyarzún, F. X., & Tremblay, G. (2025). “Tiempos de muralismo at SECOS Millennium Institute: Co-creating knowledge and new imaginaries through arts + science”. Oral presentation at Friday Harbor Laboratories, Washington, EE. UU.
Oyarzún, F. X., & Tremblay, G. (2024). Proyecto “Tiempos de Muralismo” en Tubul: Co-creando conocimientos con arte & ciencia. Oral presentation at the event: “Comunidades, Ciencias & Artes en el Golfo de Arauco”, Municipalidad de Arauco, Chile.
Tremblay, G. G. & Oyarzún, F. X. (2022). Tiempos de muralismo = Times of muralism: The co-creation of the Costal Mural Project. Chile: Genevieve G. Tremblay & Fernanda X. Oyarzún. Reed College Library, Special Collection of Artist Books. https://catalog.library.reed.edu/permalink/01ALLIANCE_REED/ivkaaq/alma99900734355601841
Personal Structures. (2022, September 23). The co-creation of knowledge and imaginaries for ocean sustainability [Conference]. Personal Structures, Palazzo Michiel, Venice, Italy. Retrieved from https://personalstructures.com/events/the-co-creation-of-knowledge-and-imaginaries-for-ocean-sustainability/
Selected press
Contardo, E. (2025, July 14). Cuando la ciencia se pinta en las murallas del mar: el arte como motor de justicia costera en Chile. Revista Endémico. Retrieved [day month year you accessed it], from https://endemico.org/cuando-la-ciencia-se-pinta-en-las-murallas-del-mar-el-arte-como-motor-de-justicia-costera-en-chile/
SECOS. (2025, May 26). Avanzan actividades de proyecto “Tiempos de Muralismo” e integración de artes y ciencia junto al Liceo de Tongoy. Socioecología Costera. Retrieved [day month year you accessed], from https://socioecologiacostera.cl/mapeo-participativo-en-liceo-de-tongoy-impulsa-conexion-entre-comunidad-territorio-y-arte/
El Mostrador Cultura. (2023, November 12). Documental “Tiempos de muralismo-Hornopirén”. El Mostrador. Retrieved, from https://www.elmostrador.cl/cultura/agenda/2023/11/12/documental-tiempos-de-muralismo-hornopiren/
Mundo Acuícola. (2022, September). Hacia una co-creación de conocimientos para sostenibilidad de la costa: Un diálogo entre artistas y científicos sobre “Tiempos de Muralismo”. Mundo Acuícola. Retrieved [day month year you accessed it], from https://www.mundoacuicola.cl/new/hacia-una-co-creacion-de-conocimientos-para-sostenibilidad-de-la-costa-un-dialogo-entre-artistas-y-cientificos-sobre-tiempos-de-muralismo/
Plataforma Costera. (n.d.). Tiempos de muralismo. Plataforma Costera. Retrieved [day month year you accessed it], from https://www.plataformacostera.org/proyectos/tiempos-de-muralismo/
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