6 Cities for Spotting Street Art

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Art comes in all different forms and appears in various spaces, but when it is painted on urban canvases, streets are vibrantly transformed into amazing attractions. Why explore art in enclosed spaces when you can take a stroll down the alleyways of these cities to witness the explosion of art onto buildings, sidewalks and everything in between?

Valparaiso, Chile

Alleyways bathe in street art and staircases wear it proudly throughout Valparaiso, a city that is so vibrantly decorated in artistic flair it offers its own street art tour. But with works of local artists like Horate, Teo, West as well as Setok whipping out their spray cans and colorful paint and literally painting the town red, its hilly labyrinth of trails become an instant showstopper.

As colossal murals sprinkled with psychedelic colors decorate every inch of space, tourists are led by the perception that artists have taken over the city by the way they have transformed Valparaiso into an open museum.  Eccentrically lined with sprawling masterpieces that convey the Chilean culture, the street art here are a dynamic showpiece.

Melbourne, Australia

Who says the work of artistic geniuses are only displayed in stuffy museums?  Well, the Australian city of Melbourne doesn’t seem to think so, especially with streets dedicated to its numerous urban artists.  It’s a city that doesn’t play when it comes to artistic expression, requiring artists to fill out permit application and wait for an approval before they can get to work on their masterpieces.

While they wait, there’s plenty of other artworks to explore along Trobe Street, Neill Street, Smythe Lane as well as Hoister Lane and much more.  Around every corner offers an element of surprise as large drawings, kaleidoscopic in color dominate its urban walls ranging from animated portraits to mystical creatures. That's because in Melbourne the artist rules.

George Town, Penang, Malaysia

With artist like Ernest Zacharevic painting the historic walls of George Town, it has officially become a city that is best explored on foot.  The UNESCO Heritage Site comes to life with interactive paintings, murals and 3D drawings that put humorous and meaningful spins on Malaysian culture. Some of these artworks include some of Zacharevic’s pieces like “Little Children on a Bicycle” which can be found on Lebuh Armenian and “Little Boy with Pet Dinosaur” located on Lebuh Pentai. 

Other drawings that evoke life in the city and its streets are “Win Win Situation” and “Cheating Husband” on Muntri Street, as well as “Wrong Tree” on Lorong Pasar.  Walking through George Town is like reading a great story as pictures mirroring its history unfold along its narrow alleys.

Berlin, Germany

While some citizens of Germany perceived the Berlin Wall as a necessary partition, others saw it as a canvas for letting out their frustrations or as an ugly wall that needed to be spruced up.  Since the 1960s, street art has evoked the emotions of citizens, gracing walls to buildings with life-sized murals. 

Even streets artists across the globe have been known to make the city of Berlin a stopping ground, vividly illuminating the historic German town with bubbly letters and quirky characters that are all responsible for its “City of Design” title. If you’re near Kreuzberg’s Skalitzer Strasse take a look at Victor Ash’s renowned Kreuzberg’s “Astronaut/Cosmonaut” or the animations of BLU, an artist from Italy.  Berlin is a treat for the eyes for travelers wanting to bask in its domineering masterpieces, which colorfully dress the city from head to toe.

NYC

Whether it’s illegal or authorized, the avenues of Manhattan are a mecca for discovering street art at its finest.  That’s because on every corner some artist has put his energy into brightening its flooded streets. In between the air intoxicated by foods seeping out of food trucks and the ground trotted by thousands of feet, towering buildings flaunting images such as a legendary superheroes or outrageous characters are always in the midst.

Its mazes of concrete are drenched in one-of-a-kind drawings in areas like Spanish Harlem’s “The Graffiti Hall of Fame”, East Second Street in the East Village and between 10^th and 11^thavenue along 21^st Street. NYC is a premier destination to see outdoor art come to life like no other place on earth.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Even before street art became legalized in Rio de Janeiro in 2009, artists were expressing themselves with paint brushes and spray cans in hand. By the various depictions of views emerging throughout the city’s streets, who needs paper and pen when you can let your artistic creativity do all the talking?

The same can be said out public opinion of Brazil hosting this year’s World Cup as numerous artists chose to convey their opposition with powerful messages of art, including Paulo Ito an artist who painted the picture of a hungry boy being served a soccer ball to eat.  Just walking the streets of Rio de Janeiro is an insightful yet interesting way to immerse yourself in the Brazilian culture with sights of dynamic images close by mimicking its way of life.