Elemento Illegal

One of the projects IPOW supports in Colombia is the Elemento Ilegal collective in Medellín. The team is made up of inspiring, young local activists, determined to create positive social change, brought together through music and street art.

The collective is in the process of creating a centre called La Guarida (which roughly translates to The Den) in the El Faro neighbourhood of Medellín, a barrio that has attracted residents from rural areas of Colombia who have been driven out of their home communities by the violence of long-term conflict. La Guarida will be a safe place for young people to gather, make music in a dedicated studio, supported by organisations in our Global Music Industry Advisory Board and some of our artist ambassadors, including the phenomenal EDM duo, Sofi Tukker, and to create art and cultivate their own food crops in a community garden.

This project is a beautiful example of proactive, creative grassroots change-makers coming together to offer an alternative to the violence of gang life via music, art and a move towards sustainable living from the earth.