What is Broken Tiles?
An interactive installation blending stark structure (architecture) with vibrant, textured culture (street art). Street Art includes visual, graffiti & murals, wearable and performance.
When is it?
The installation, celebrating the vibrant spirit of Argentina, will take place at The ArtiFactory in Iowa City throughout the month of May, 2026. The events kick off on May 1 with an opening reception featuring a brief introduction to the project, informal folkloric dances from Argentina—complete with audience participation—and a spread of beverages and appetizers to set the tone. Each Sunday afternoon, visitors can dive deeper into Argentine culture through a rotating lineup of events: a film screening, a hands‑on cooking class with simple Argentine dishes, an “art in the afternoon” session for drawing, painting, and collaging, and finally, a joyful closing gathering highlighted by tango dancing. All events are open to the community. Behind the scenes, the project is powered by a dedicated team: director Nora Garda (born and raised in Argentina), three curators, a social media manager, a video and sound editor, a sound technician, and at least five volunteers who help bring each event to life.
Why Broken Tiles?
The sidewalks of Buenos Aires (veredas) are whimsical and full of soul,
unmistakably Argentine. Tiled and shaded by trees, these patterned
promenades ripple beneath your feet—uneven, pocked with potholes and
broken tiles. Beautiful yet capricious in the rain, they glisten, betray, and
endure, shaping a tender and singular urban experience.
What you, the audience, will experience:
In Broken Tiles, visitors step into the streets of Buenos Aires—its
buildings, its whimsical and soul filled sidewalks (veredas), its restless
urban art.
They experience the city’s rhythm not as spectacle, but as sensation.
Imposing buildings steeped in history. Eclectic neighborhoods with tiled,
tree-lined promenades—mosaics beneath the jacarandas—rise and dip
with time, pocked with potholes and broken tiles. The broken tiles,
layered with memory, slip underfoot in rain and ask you to walk with
attention, to feel the city underfoot and move at its rhythm. Murals and
graffiti that speak in color. Street performances unfolding without
warning. Sustainable fashion stitched into daily life. And broken tiles
everywhere—quiet, persistent reminders beneath your feet.
You don’t simply look at Buenos Aires.
You learn how to walk with it.
BROKEN TILES: Nora’s statement
Broken Tiles turns memory into something you can step on.
It isn’t a longing for a lost city—it’s a playful reunion with it. The
cracked veredas, the uneven mosaics, the tiles patched and repatched
like improvised quilts—these aren’t signs of decay. They’re character.
They’re punchlines. They’re proof that life happened here.
In Broken Tiles, the streets of Buenos Aires don’t ache with absence;
they hum with stories. The broken pieces become rhythm. The potholes
become choreography. You remember learning how to walk
differently—carefully, creatively—laughing at yourself when you
misstep. The city taught you balance and improvisation.
This is nostalgia with a grin.
It remembers the sidewalks not as perfect promenades but as
faithless, charming companions—sunlit, tree-lined, a little treacherous
after the rain, always photogenic. It remembers murals half-faded and
graffiti layered like conversations. It remembers the feeling of
belonging not because everything was polished, but because nothing
was.
Broken Tiles transforms fracture into affection. It invites visitors not
to mourn what cracks, but to delight in it—to see how imperfection
makes texture, how repair leaves visible history, how walking becomes
participation.
It’s not about what’s broken.
It’s about how beautifully we learn to move with it.
The sidewalks of Buenos Aires (veredas) are whimsical and full of soul,
unmistakably Argentine. Tiled and shaded by trees, these patterned
promenades ripple beneath your feet—uneven, pocked with potholes and
broken tiles. Beautiful yet capricious in the rain, they glisten, betray, and
endure, shaping a tender and singular urban experience.
What you, the audience, will experience:
In Broken Tiles, visitors step into the streets of Buenos Aires—its
buildings, its whimsical and soul filled sidewalks (veredas), its restless
urban art.
They experience the city’s rhythm not as spectacle, but as sensation.
Imposing buildings steeped in history. Eclectic neighborhoods with tiled,
tree-lined promenades—mosaics beneath the jacarandas—rise and dip
with time, pocked with potholes and broken tiles. The broken tiles,
layered with memory, slip underfoot in rain and ask you to walk with
attention, to feel the city underfoot and move at its rhythm. Murals and
graffiti that speak in color. Street performances unfolding without
warning. Sustainable fashion stitched into daily life. And broken tiles
everywhere—quiet, persistent reminders beneath your feet.
You don’t simply look at Buenos Aires.
You learn how to walk with it.
BROKEN TILES: Nora’s statement
Broken Tiles turns memory into something you can step on.
It isn’t a longing for a lost city—it’s a playful reunion with it. The
cracked veredas, the uneven mosaics, the tiles patched and repatched
like improvised quilts—these aren’t signs of decay. They’re character.
They’re punchlines. They’re proof that life happened here.
In Broken Tiles, the streets of Buenos Aires don’t ache with absence;
they hum with stories. The broken pieces become rhythm. The potholes
become choreography. You remember learning how to walk
differently—carefully, creatively—laughing at yourself when you
misstep. The city taught you balance and improvisation.
This is nostalgia with a grin.
It remembers the sidewalks not as perfect promenades but as
faithless, charming companions—sunlit, tree-lined, a little treacherous
after the rain, always photogenic. It remembers murals half-faded and
graffiti layered like conversations. It remembers the feeling of
belonging not because everything was polished, but because nothing
was.
Broken Tiles transforms fracture into affection. It invites visitors not
to mourn what cracks, but to delight in it—to see how imperfection
makes texture, how repair leaves visible history, how walking becomes
participation.
It’s not about what’s broken.
It’s about how beautifully we learn to move with it.
About the Director:
With a long record of bringing cultural education and participatory events to Iowans, Nora Garda has helped expand access to diverse customs and art forms across the state. She believes that sharing authentic cultural experiences—beyond the stereotypical images often associated with a country—enriches communities. Guided by this belief, she has spent nearly three decades gathering information and introducing Iowans to the lesser‑known traditions of her native Argentina through dance, music, video, installations, and folk celebrations.
About the project:
Buenos Aires boasts one of the world's most vibrant arts and culture scenes, defined by hidden underground galleries, intimate theaters, and striking street art. In Argentina, culture and art are inextricably linked; they serve as both a profound reflection of the nation's identity and a bridge for connecting with the world.
