La Rueda

A group of artists initiated collecting abandoned tyres from the Tunjuelo River0 and using them as media representative of both their basic expression and creativity. Instead of treating the tyres as trash, the project reutilizes them for cultural and political expression. The tyres, once recovered, cleaned, and prepared, are used by invited artists from all over Bogotá by applying the artworks to these surfaces, directly stamping their political, social, and personal messages onto the tangible remains of urban waste. This event is associated with the Museo Libre.

The wheels have now turned full circle, with La Rueda Expo being the result of this process-an exhibition that underlines the material history of the tyres themselves while bringing together a variety of artistic practices.

By pointing out the presence of waste in the ecological systems of the city, and by reframing its potential value, the exhibition operates as a cultural event and form of environmental intervention. Since its inception in 2024, the exhibition has continued annually, evolving into a recurring site of public engagement and collective utterance.

La Rueda Expo is one example of reappropriation in the waste scene in Bogotá. Such processes demonstrate the way in which refused material can be mobilized to bring into being other values and socialities, contesting dominant discourses that suggest waste is 'passive' or 'valueless'.