We had the good fortune of connecting with Cristina Pagnoncelli and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cristina, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I guess that’s the only way to go. If we get to scared to try new things, to leave our confort zone and be afraid of taking different paths we get stuck. I see myself as a very curious person and even though I was not sure about the decisions I made, I jumped. I like to be always learning and experimenting, and this is something that took me further in my career, opened some doors and connected me with other people and artists.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I guess it’s never easy but I feel very proud looking back over these 10 – 12 years. I used to work as a designer in some agencies, till I decided to risk it all and try freelancing while studying illustration in Barcelona in 2010 and then visual branding in NYC in 2012. Traveling was also a very important part of my career cause it brought me another vision about life and how I wanted to live life. In NYC I started biking and got addicted to fixed gear culture and how our bodies relates to the cities in a very different way when we are riding a bike. I simply love the feeling and it has a huge influence on my personal inner peace and satisfaction.

I love MOVEMENT, I need to feel I’m moving somewhere. Discovering new things, learning from other cultures, exploring new cities and places. Looking at the world gave so much more inspiration to do my work. After this brief time in NYC I started to do chalk art works and I got lots of recognition in Brazil as the first letterer artist on this ‘new visual language’. But as a curious and adventurous person I also got into painting murals with paint and spray. And this has been my main work these days. I love to see how my art transforms the environment and changes people’s perspective – i know that ’cause I receive incredible feedback from people all around posting my murals and texting me about how my art and words reached them. It’s amazing.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If this friend is up to bike around I’d def encourage her/him to ride with me. We would ride on my favorite streets and bike paths that has a lot of green landscapes. Curitiba has beautiful parks and bike paths to enjoy riding a bike. Guess our first stop would be for a brunch in a local coffee shop and then we could visit a Museum in town that besides great exhibition it’s an art delight just for it’s architecture (MON – designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer). From there we could spend some time hanging on the back of the museum where there is a beautiful garden… in a sunny day, we could make a picnic under the trees before biking a little bit more till the historic center going through streets and lots of urban murals I know in town. We would def stop at “Praça de Bolso de Ciclistas” a small place constructed by the local community to reunite bikers. It’s one of my favorite spots in town cause there is a lot of art and these last two years has been occupied with a lot of women’s works. There is also a mural from the swiss artist Mona Caron. From there we could grab a beer at some local bars at São Francisco Street and eat some vegan food at Janaino Vegan, a great place with vegan options. If we still has energy we could enjoy some music concerts at the area, there is a lot of cool bars we could hang. Or, if we are tired of biking we could end up at Cine Passeio and watch a movie to close the night. Seems like an amazing day for me 🙂

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’ll be always grateful to my friends from CRIATIPOS, a collective where we used to share so much and still do till today. Back in 2013 we got together to experiment painting letters and murals in several situations. It was along side my beginning with the chalk art practice. But the collective working was essential to learn so much from them and from the experiences we got the opportunity to have like illustrating a live chalk art mural in Lollapalooza São Paulo in 2014. Doing stuff in a group makes everything looks easier cause we feel more confortable to make mistakes or to go through things feeling more confident and secure that we are not alone. I dedicate this shoutout to my dear friends Cyla Costa, Eduilson Coan and Jackson Alves for being such an inspiration for so long!

Website: http://crispagnoncelli.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crispagnoncelli/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crispagnoncelli/

Other: https://www.domestika.org/pt/courses/3678-lettering-com-giz-para-murais/crispagnoncelli

Image Credits
The images were provided by me.

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