Open Air Museum San Miguel, Open air art gallery in San Miguel, Santiago, Chile

Open Air Museum San Miguel is an outdoor gallery in the San Miguel neighborhood of Santiago, Chile, where large murals cover the facades of residential buildings across several streets. The works are spread through the district and can be explored on foot as a connected walking route.

The project was devised in 2009 by Roberto Hernández Bravo and David Villarroel Fuentes, residents of the San Miguel housing estate, who founded the Centro Cultural Mixart to carry it out. Inspired by Valparaíso's open-air museum, it was presented to the National Arts Fund in April 2010, approved in July and begun in September with a mural dedicated to the Chilean band Los Prisioneros, who are from the commune. The inauguration coincided with Chile's Bicentennial celebrations.

Many of the murals show figures and symbols drawn from Chilean folk culture, which speak directly to visitors even without prior knowledge. Walking through the streets, you notice how residents treat the painted facades as a normal part of daily life.

The murals are spread across several streets with no central entrance, so the best way to see them is to walk through the neighborhood at your own pace. Visiting during daylight hours makes it easier to see the colors and details on the building facades.

Although the murals occupy public space, almost all of them are painted on private buildings whose owners agreed to have their facades used as canvases. This consent from residents is a core part of the project and sets it apart from many other street art initiatives.