From community-based environmental initiatives to political expression through music and street art, Chilean youth are reimagining how to spark change within increasingly constrained political and social conditions. The young activists are adapting six years after the 2019 Estallido Social, mass protests that transformed the country’s political landscape.
This photo essay captures murals throughout Santiago, Chile's capital.
Resistance art in Santiago’s Lastarria neighborhood. Image by Graham Owens. Chile, 2025. A mural in the Yungay neighborhood, depicting the bond between three women across ethnic differences. Image by Graham Owens. Chile, 2025. A mural in the Barrio Brasil neighborhood celebrates Black Chileans' influence in Santiago. Image by Graham Owens. Chile, 2025.
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A mural reads, “Hate me all you want.” Image by Graham Owens. Chile, 2025. Leftist posters condemn Chile’s political landscape and call for the destruction of capitalism. Image by Graham Owens. Chile, 2025. Political art marks the entry into Santiago’s Bellavista neighborhood. Image by Graham Owens. Chile, 2025. Pro-LGBTQ street art in Lastarria. Image by Graham Owens. Chile, 2025. Political street art decorates a busy part of Yungay. Image by Graham Owens. Chile, 2025. Leftist posters in Lastarria criticize Chile’s ministry of labor. Image by Graham Owens. 2025. A mural in Yungay calls for the return of land to Indigenous Chileans, a prominent issue during the constitutional referendum debates. Image by Graham Owens. 2025. A mural in Santiago signifies Chile’s hope. A few blocks away, the Museum of Memory and Human Rights draws attention to the human rights abuses committed by Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship. Image by Graham Owens. 2025. One of many house-sized murals in Bellavista, illustrating hope for the future of Chile. Image by Graham Owens. 2025. A portrait of a woman in Bellavista. Image by Graham Owens. Chile, 2025.
