WELCOME TO BOCAPORT...

IN THE midst of a sweltering hot day, there is a man sitting on a chair in the middle of a side street just off Stockport town centre with his feet in a huge bucket of water as he hoses himself down.

- ADAM MAIDMENT

As a stream of rinsed paint water trickles down the road, I am told that the man in the bucket is Omar Gasparini - a well-known artist from Argentina who is hugely respected in his field. As he speaks little to no English, I hear from others how he is one of the many artists to have painted murals in La Boca, a rich cultural neighbourhood in Buenos Aires.

Once a 'forgotten and crumbling' place, La Boca is now one of Argentina's most popular tourist destinations thanks to its brightly coloured houses and streets filled with creative and topical artwork. Omar and four other Argentinian artists are here in Stockport to attempt to transform one area of the borough into its own mini La Boca - and it's already coming along nicely.

It's part of a project from John and Sophie Macaulay, the husband-and-wife team behind GRIT Studios and Art Battle Manchester, to coincide with Stockport being named the Town of Culture this year.

Eva Luna Maissa, Patrica Salatino, Melina Lluvia, and Alejandro Fenochio have all travelled with Omar from Argentina to embed themselves in Stockport. After speaking with members of the local community, they will create a mural on a huge bridge wall by Hopes Carre that will bring together both Argentinian culture with Stockport's own industrial and cultural heritage.

Work on the project got underway at the start of the week and, within hours, the once grey strip of concrete has already started to form life as a new colourful haven.