STREET ART #79 - Tropical theme in Chinatown (Mauritius)

Port Louis, the capital of the tropical island of Mauritius has it's own Chinatown. Probably the smallest outside China. It covers only a few blocks close to the main street. In Chinatown I found this wall with a theme, appropiate for a tropical island, but different from the rest of the street art in this part of the city. When I was here in 2019 I found the district loaded with street art. These photos are from a wall, which is one of the only ones that does't have a "Chinese theme". I have allready done a post from Chinatown, but didn't include this wall as I found it a bit "out of place" compared with the rest. Now I actually find the wall quite cool.

Chinatown is exceptional. It has the highest concentration of street art in Port Louis. The reason for this is due to many years of neglect. In 2019 I learned that the young generation has formed the New Chinatown Foundation. They wanted to renew Chinatown and make it an attractive, safe place to be. Together with local artists, they invited artists from China to do the job of redecorating the area. The result is amazing!

Only four to five years ago there were absolutely no street art in the Port Louis. But this has changed dramatically. Last time I was here ( 2019) I counted close to 60 paintings! During these years a lot of street art has brightend up the capital. It all seemed to have startet in 2015 when the city was having their first cultural festival – The Porlwi Festival. Both local and international street artists were invited each year for the new edition of the festival.

On a fence in Chinatown there are lots of photos showing artists at work during ther process of renewal. One of my previous posts about street art in Port Louis is from Chinatown with Chineese inspired themes:

STREET ART #53 – How street art is used as a tool in urban renewal (Mauritius)

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Latest street art post, check out :
STREET ART #78 – Activists are speaking up (Kristiansand, Norway)

U.J

Kristiansand, Norway

All the photoes are mine, Ulla Jensen (flickr, Instagram and facebook)

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