Parts of Colombia’s second largest urban center, Medellin, have taken to the most rural activity possible, agriculture, in an attempt to recognize the memories of war while restoring the social fabric necessary for peace.
Medellin, 10 years after ‘Operation Orion’, still looking for answers
Soon after, locals began to recount stories of civilians wounded in the crossfire, disappeared neighbors and innocent civilians tortured by the newly arrived paramilitaries.
San Javier’s “Peace” mural, created by local graffiti artists (Image: Richard Kelleher)
New memories and old memories
Each Saturday, a collection of residents from across Medellin congregate in community center “La Casa Morada” before heading out to plant flowers, herbs and vegetables by the roadside.
AgroArte plants vegetables such as cauliflower and plantain while helping teach locals to become self sufficient (Image: Richard Kelleher)
Plants are usually “aromatic, medicinal or “ornamental” (Image: Richard Kelleher)
“You could say that Colombia is a huge mass grave. There are so many people who have waited for so long to see their loved ones, and they’ve never appeared. It’s a denial of the pain when you can’t even bury them.”
Leader of Agro Arte “El AKA” (Image: Richard Kelleher)
Plastic bottles turned to plant pots bare the names of loved ones (Image: Richard Kelleher)
Afternoon discussions in “La Casa Morada” range from audiovisual fields to literature (Image: Richard Kelleher)
AgroArte members vary in age, gender and often nationality. Here, two sisters work on their photography skills (Image: Richard Kelleher)
We bring cultivation to urban spaces generating live, fertile blocks. However, AgroArte is more than just a group. AgroArte is a philosophy of creating with one another. We share knowledge and cultivation through an educational and pedagogical process.
Leader of AgroArte “El AKA”
Leader of AgroArte “El AKA”
A member of the group plants in front of the “Sowing Memory” mural (Image: Richard Kelleher)