Expect the unexpected

While a flurry of French and British cultural events has flooded the capital this spring, a small-scale yet interactive Spanish art festival is poised to make its mark next month, bringing the city to life in time for summer with art and music.

The 2012 Spanish Contemporary Live Art and Music Festival, starts on May 12, with talks, exhibitions and live painting shows from Spain's established street art group Equipo Plástico poised to engage the public.

Music group Monta?a Sagrada (Holy Mountain) will also provide an improvised Spanish soundtrack to the festival.　

"By joining diverse fields through interdisciplinary crossovers between gastronomy, design and music, Migas will offer Beijing audiences a spectacular show and an amazing experience," promised María Domínguez Rodríguez with the organizer.

Equipo Plastico, consisting of artists Sixeart, El Tono, Nuria Mora and Nano4814, is a group representing modern art from around the world. Considering art as a lifestyle, it arouses public interest by combining art with urban landscapes.

The artists are set to arrive in the city in early May and will spend about two weeks strolling the capital's hutong, dining at small restaurants, taking photographs and mingling with locals before they get their hands dirty at a live painting show at the Nali Patio in Sanlitun on May 19.

Although street art is often linked to political appeal, the exhibition will focus on a personal interpretation of the city while fusing Spanish and Chinese culture, said El Tono, 37, a graffiti artist with 20 years' experience and whose works, though not easily identifiable, often penetrate the local scene.

"Art has no boundaries and that's why we brought street artists to our show," explained Rodríguez, a native of the northwestern Spanish city of Vigo, famed for its dynamic street art culture. "Instead of going to an indoor gallery to watch a serious exhibition, we want to see people appreciate street art more closely related to the city they are living in."

El Tono, who has lived in China since 2010 and painted on street in several Chinese cities, is also keen to candidly share Spanish street art with locals. "I really like to work on the street because there is no filter between the artist, the artwork and the public. It's spontaneous and I think that the encounter with an unexpected piece of art can result in a deeper experience than when you visit a gallery with the expectation of seeing art," he said.

"The street is my canvas and I've developed a special way of viewing a city. Observation is a daily habit for me and I find every little gap left free from official control inspiring," he added. "Most of my projects are stimulated by spontaneous street behavior, such as communication, accidental composition, self-construction, accumulation and repetition."

The music party to be held on May 25 at the rooftop of Migas in Sanlitun promises an evening of improvisation and surrealist performances by Monta?a Sagrada, named after Chilean-French filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 cult film.

A collective formed by Rafa Su?en, Luciano Suarez and Nano4814, the group describes itself as "a Roman circus with parties, music groups, fanzines, exhibitions, vinyl records and many laughs."

"It's too early to tell what paintings or music the artists will bring us, as both rely on the artists' improvisation," said Han Peipei, the project's coordinator. "We just want people to come and enjoy the art itself."