it seems to me that lisbon has more than earned the title “europe’s street art capital”. not only is illegal graffiti omnipresent, there are also several street art projects being funded by the city council. these projects have the goal of reducing vandalism. the fact that these colorfully painted walls also bring tourists to the city is just an extra argument for promoting street art.
one project is hard to overlook: already when travelling from the airport to the city center, you’ll pass a housing block adorned with 5 great street art murals from major names, including blu, sam3 and os gosmeos.
one very impressive mural is on an eight-story skyscraper and can be perfectly seen from the hills. this was created by the spanish artist aryz as part of a birthday project for the “montana shop & gallery lisboa”. the work is well worth seeing: a creative design with a great color combination.
many other large works/murals are being commissioned by the gau project (galleria arte urbana), which will be discussed in more detail in the next lisbon article.
with this exciting combination of street art projects and illegal works, you can explore the city for days and continually discover something new. although… I have to admit, after a week in lisbon, I was pretty shocked at the overall state of the city. if you look a bit more closely, you’ll see many empty apartments and bricked-up windows. trees grow through roofs here and there, though a cafe might have opened on the ground floor, for instance.
of course there are also signs of hope. the bairro alto, for example, was totally run down just five years ago. now it is restored to its venerable old style and flourishing. there are also concepts that teach residents how to “re-activate” vacant apartments. for example, at a mimosa da lapa, an inconspicuous shop not too far from the center that I only discovered due to a rainstorm. the shop, which was vacant for 16 years, has kept its antique interior. in this interesting atmosphere, it sells local specialties, used bicycles and – because of the nearby school – candy. there are also exhibitions and lectures in the back room. a visit and talk with the owner is worth it!
and finally… it’s hard to overlook one thing in lisbon: 1up was in town and their works accompanied me throughout the week.
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