Bogota, Colombia-based Australian street artist Crisp is a man on a mission – a mission to encourage local communities and artists to reclaim the street aesthetic as their own, especially from corporate commercial visual polluters.  He is so dedicated to his cause that in 2010 he moved to Bogota, Colombia, where graffiti is not illegal, so that he could freely practice his art. “The streets of our cities shouldn’t be blank, boring or commercialised, they should be utilised to inspire, make people think, and ultimately improve people’s lives!,” said Crisp.

Crisp has made a name for himself as a talented stencil artist who is not afraid to push the boundaries of the urban art aesthetic.  He was a major proponent of the development of the street art culture in England, where he lived from 2001-2010, and has collaborated with some of the world’s most famous street artists including Dast1 and Miko.

“You would think it [is] scary being a foreign street artist here, always looking over your shoulder for robbers or police, but in fact my experience has been quite the opposite,”  Crisp recently told Simon Phillips in an article for “Colombia Reports”.

Since leaving the relative security - and anti-graffiti law enforcers - of his home in England for the freedom of Colombia, CRISP has flourished.  His latest project is a mural being painted for the 2013 Festival Anonymous which will take place at the Bay of Banderas in Mexico on the 26^th and 27^th of January. The objective of the festival is to provide free access to art and music throughout the Bay of Banderas, and in turn promote the urban arts as a positive and important form of expression.

Over a period of several weeks the festival presents a number of workshops and events throughout local communities culminating in a two-day music and art festival. With the beautiful Pacific and majestic Sierra Madres as their backdrop, artists and musicians from around the world come together to celebrate the colour, the sound, and most importantly the souls that move urban life.

For more information on Festival Anonymous visit their website here