Graffiti Around The World: Edgy Art In Surprising Places

One of my favorite activities while traveling is exploring the street art. When I land in a metropolis I often look for street art tours. They never disappoint by not only uncovering stories about the art, the artists and the history of a place but also giving you a walk through of the city. In Lisbon my guide actually was studying graffiti and personally knew some of the artists and the how and why of their art. Some cities have planned out specific areas for artists to paint their murals on the walls e.g. Denver, while other cities or neighborhoods you have to search for the graffiti that is covering old walls, brightening neighborhoods, making political points, or showcasing the artists talent. In Belgrade I constantly was running into these black and white painted portraits which inspired me to find out more. Here is a photo journal of my favorite graffiti around the world. I hope you enjoy! Please drop a comment on murals you’ve seen, artists you know or hidden gems I may be missing.

Athens

Surprise! Athens has a vibrant street art scenes that I was not expecting. Not only that but graffiti and the word graffiti has ancient roots. ‘Graffiti’ comes from the Greek word ‘graphi’ which means to write. In the popular area of Psiri in Athens immediately you will notice that the walls are covered with scribbles, tags and murals. You can walk around ancient sites like the Acropolis and then meander over to modern Athens to check out the street art, restaurants and open markets.

Barcelona

Cool public art boxes at the park

Belgrade

Belgrade is a European city that I really enjoyed exploring. As I increased my walking miles I noticed these black and white ‘paintings’ all over the city. It turns out these portraits originated by two groups the GTR (Grobarski Trash Romanism) and a pun group JNA in support of the Partizan sports club.

These portraits were initiated by the GTR and JNA group in 2015 and consist of black-and-white murals depicting public figures from Serbia and around the world (actors, athletes, musicians). These portraits are around every corner and it is like a treasure hunt to find them.

Denver

In the River North Arts district in Denver there was a beautiful mural festival that brought together artists from around the world. CRUSH WALLS began in 2010, founded by Denver artist Robin Munro (aka Dread). It started as a grassroots effort to provide a platform for graffiti and street artists, particularly in the RiNo (River North Art District) of Denver. The festival aimed to foster community and promote the acceptance of street art as a legitimate art form.

Over the years, CRUSH WALLS grew significantly, attracting local, national, and international artists. It transformed the RiNo district into an open-air art gallery, drawing large crowds and contributing to the neighborhood’s revitalization. The festival provided a space for artists to express themselves freely, often addressing social and political issues.

CRUSH walls helped to elevate the status of street art, and helped to make the RiNo district a must see location in Denver. RiNo is an amazing place to explore and check out the art displayed on walls in alleys, on commercial buildings in parking lots, restaurants and offices. Here I fell in love with several artists that I discovered for the first time i.e. Detour, Scott Lefavor, rumtum, casey kawaguchi,obeygiant,alexandrea_pang, clandestinos shalack attach & bruno smokey nomad.clan,poni,pharoh one alouishous san gomma, stickki peaches, jason garcia, mike giant, patrick Kane McGregor lindeezimmer,juane, woes martin, chad bolsinger jason t graves shepard fairey, vitoriano rivera, nick napoletano, pharoah One jaime molina & pedro barrios the giant

Although Crush Walls folded, Denver is carrying on with Denver Walls! This event will happen the end of September. Let’s Go!

l-r ObeyGiant, Woes Martin, Jason Garcia, Mike Giant & Patrick Kane McGregor colab, Stikki Peaches, Juane, Nomad Clan

l-r Anonomous, Obey Giant, CaseyKawaguchi,

Johannesburg

When I was researching South Africa so many people said for me to ‘skip’ Johannesburg. It’s dangerous, not much to see etc. Well I can say now that I have been, that I am so grateful for exploring Joberg. There is so much to learn about the history and culture and there are very cool places to go with artists and designer vibes, and for food and shopping. I was fortunate to stay in one such place – Maboneng. A up and coming designer heavy neighborhood with plenty of street art. I joined a walking tour and took in the sights.

Lisbon

There is so much to see and do in Lisbon. It has history, culture, architecture, food, nightlife and…amazing street art. The scene here is so amazing that I had to do a walking grafitti tour!