Australian artist Fintan Magee is now in Italy invited to take part of this year’s Willoke Street Art festival for which he painted this stunning mural dedicated to the refugees in Monteleone di Puglia, Italy.
Titled “Ibra”, the mural depicts the portrait of Ibra, a 16-years-old Gambian boy who arrived in Monteleone di Puglia with only a piece of cloth in his hands. Ibra is depicted standing, proudly showing the garment that could remind us of a large scarf. This is his heritage.
Monteleone di Puglia is not only a hill town and comune in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of south-eastern Italy with a population of around 1,011 inhabitants it is also Ibra’s new home and it is here and the place he wants to live and work at. He wants to talk about himself and be understood, he wants to fall in love and grow as a human being. He does not want to steal, exploit the society that hosts him, or offend others religious or moral sensibilities. Looking forward with pride and optimism, he wants to be part of this new culture, develop himself and find happiness, just like the rest of us.
Images by Marco Memoli
Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
