The Artmadams hotel has reopened and the mural that which caused such a furore earlier this year is still there.
Palma City Council claimed the hotel owner, Jaime España did not have a Municipal Permit for the mural, by artist José Luis Mesas on the hotel façade and opened an urban infraction file. In May, the artist was ordered to stop painting.
When the canvas was removed at the reopening of Artmadams, the mural was still in place, but only on the façade facing Carrer del Marquès de la Sènia, not on the sides of the building as originally planned.
"We hope that residents, visitors and Palma City Council like it,” said Artmadams owner, Jaime España, who stressed that the mural is as important as artwork in the Barceló chapel, Palma Cathedral and es Baluard,” he said. “This artwork can be enjoyed by everyone for free, because I have already paid for everything.”
The bill for the mural is estimated to be around 150,000 euros, for scaffolding, 5 months work by José Luis Mesas and other costs.
"I think the sanction is up in the air or on standby because Palma City Council wanted to see how the mural looked when it was finished and find out what residents and visitors thought of it,” adds España who says it would be a shame if he was ordered to remove it.
"In addition to losing me, the city would lose artwork that has revitalised the area and brought joy to a lot of people."
The Artmadams Hotel has an exhibition hall for young painters and a 5 x 2.5 metre screen showing images of the work of exhibiting artists and of Palma.
Artist, José Luis Mesas says many neighbours congratulated him on the mural, which represents different moments of his life.