TeToux – Urban Art Project in Madrid’s Lavapiés Aims to Bring Communities Together Through Street Art

A conversation with Carlos Rudge, artist and founder of the TeToux Project

TeToux artworks outside The Language Gym & Los Rotos de Lavapiés, Calle del Mesón de Paredes, Madrid. Photo credit: Zoe Dahse

Lavapiés: a beautiful part of Madrid, and the barrio (neighbourhood) I lived in for 9 months during my year abroad. Famed for its reputation as a multicultural neighbourhood, and its more recent history as a drug district in the 80s and 90s, today the area is bustling with multiple businesses and tabernas (bars). Locals spend their afternoons drinking cañas (beers) on tables outside, and in the heavy heat of summer evenings the streets spill over with groups of friends animatedly discussing politics.

Most recently it has gained the reputation of being the “hip/cool/bohemian” barrio. It’s a popular spot for tourists and artists, with a somewhat “anti-glamour” aesthetic. Graffiti is a common sight in the barrio, and throughout the year I saw artworks that referenced political protest movements: against Airbnb and unsustainable tourism, a problem Spain currently faces in many ways, the rise of the far-right party Vox (“FUCK VOX!” being one effective example), and more recently the emergence of pro-Palestine pieces. 

In contrast to these more political forms of graffiti, I soon spotted a different style of graffiti on window shops and rolled down shutters – a happy face, smiling broadly, with a heart coming out of its head. This figure forms the premise of Carlos Rudge’s TeToux project. 

Colloquially known in the barrio as Caíto, Rudge is originally from Brazil and came to Madrid in 2005. While the idea for TeToux took form in Madrid, it was conceived in Belgium, where the artist lived for 5 years. The name “TeToux” takes inspiration from the French language. “Ta tête est où?/ Where is your head at?” asks people to question their relationship to their surroundings; he explains the signature image as  “a question that is being posed, coming out from the head is the heart”.

Rudge tells me that his “natural environment is one in which more than one language is spoken”, and throughout our conversation he flexibly code-switches between Spanish, English, French, and Portuguese. The TeToux project is tightly linked to The Language Gym, a language learning centre, the entrance of which features one of his newly made graffiti pieces, and of which he is creative director. 

Inside, on the third floor, tucked away behind a balustrade, he shows me his studio where he comes up with new ideas. Both TeToux and The Language Gym are start-ups and complement each other – he works for them as a Portuguese conversation teacher, and at the same time is provided with a studio space. He offers street tours and graffiti workshops to tourists throughout the year, an aspect of his business which is ever-expanding. 

And why the positive face, the image he’s now painted all over the neighbourhood, as a point of continuity? Rudge’s work contrasts with that of other graffiti artists in the neighbourhood which uses darker tones and paint more serious topics. He argues that his artworks “they have to be positive because people can’t put up with negativity”.

Shop shutters painted over with the typical TeToux image, with consent from the businesses. Photo credit: Zoe Dahse

In the future, he wants to bring things in the community together through the TeToux Project. “In Madrid we’re lacking in urban art, the more things there are the better”, he argues, and “[he wants] things to become more collaborative”. He admits that the project didn’t start with the intention of cultivating the educational aspect it now has, but he’s looking forward to seeing how the project develops in the years to come.

“It’s also an investment to paint in the streets”, he says. He tries to promote the idea that artists, neighbours and local businesses are part of the maintenance and renovation of urban art spaces. The Madrid Street Art Project, formed in 2019, was the first collective that organised itself for urban art events in Madrid, but he argues that “they are quite exclusionary”. He wants to change this by establishing a dialogue between neighbours and people, and for his art to spur on reflection for individuals in relation to how they view street art.

And what is Rudge’s personal aim, ultimately?  “¡Por lo mínimo quiero sacar a unas sonrisas!/ At the very least I want to make people smile!” Take a paseo (stroll) through the barrio, and there’s no doubt you’ll find yourself doing the very same as you stumble across his art on multiple street corners.

To find out more about Rudge’s work, follow the link below:  https://tetoux.company.site/About-Tetoux-Project-c144931265