Valencia, Spain
After a very emotional week at Pueblo Ingles I was ready for my Eurail adventure and the Spaniards told me Valencia was a pretty city and they were right but what struck me most was the street art.
It reminded me a lot of art in Buenos Aires.
Like with most people street art fascinates me in cities and I’m often disappointed when I find out that a city doesn’t have it. Maybe if I had seen it in Innsbruck, Austria I would have liked the city.
But in Spain it seems art of all kinds is celebrated and I see it on every street.
Much like in Buenos Aires where a paint company would sponsor the revitalisation of a neighborhood with street art. It’s really a smart tactics because once something painted, there is an unspoken code that other painters won’t touch it or tag it.
So you have your choice, have something interesting painted on your wall…
or leave it to vandals and end up with something like this…
Easy decision.
I'm Ayngelina and in my mid-thirties. I left an amazing job, boyfriend, apartment and friends to find inspiration in Latin America. I'm creating a new life choosing what I want instead of what other people think I should do.
fully supported street art > illegal graffiti done in dark.
Beauty pictures, by the way!
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The art was so vibrant, these are all ipod camera shots.
A couple of those definitely look like the art in BA. The stencil one of course, and then the one of the girl looks a little like work by the female artist Pum Pum.
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There were a few that I could have sworn were the same artist. If you haven’t been to Spain yet you should come.
I lover the muscle rooster art. We went to a street art show in Nelson and it was fantastic!
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I’m not sure about Spain but I do know in Buenos Aires the act of creating street art is usually an event in itself that a lot of corporate sponsors get involved with. I wish we had more of it in Canada.
Wow, if you hadn’t told us where you were I would’ve sworn you were in BA! I suppose street artists get inspiration from all around the world so it’s not surprising that there are common themes in the art across the world.
I think Spain holds a lot of the same values for art and beauty that I saw in BA.
Great Photos! I love Steet Art. A follow up post to this would be awesome!
I love the skeleton girl with the red hair.
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I love street art too. I think I will start featuring it in cities where I think it’s interesting. I didn’t think people would want to see the photos but maybe I am wrong.
There heavy fines for street art and graffiti in Brussels, but there are also lots of officially sanctioned works. Unfortunately there code that once a piece is in place it doesn’t get tagged doesn’t seem to be honoured in Brussels. Bonon painted a series of bison, wolves, etc on the metro that appeared to move as the train passed them. Sadly now covered in much less original work and tags.
It is really sad because Brussels has to be one of the ugliest cities I have seen. A cooperation with street artists could really liven up what felt like a decaying city.
I recently did an article (still to be published) on Valencia street art. The art scene there is really thriving because they aren’t cracking down on it like in Madrid and Barcelona. I’m now obsessed with the crews in Valencia – they produce some amazing stuff!
I would love to read that. I didn’t spend enough time there but I must say Valencia is so much nicer than Spaniards think.
Loved this post Ayngelina. I, like you appreciate the value of street art and feel that cities would not be quite as dynamic without it. One of the best cities to see inspiring murals and street art is Philadelphia. Thanks for sharing!
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I haven’t spent enough time in the States but I find the most dynamic artistically also have great street art.
You may have just put Philly on my road trip list.
Now I just need to find a car!
That first shot is one helluva angry bird rendition. koudos to the artist. lol
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Beautiful! The piece in your first photo is pretty incredible with the details on the muscles.
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Its a shame that some people still feel inclined to graffiti. On your first image you have that cool street art rooster but someone has still done tasteless graffiti on the space to the right
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I would definitely pick the artistic street art. Your pictures are very nice! They did something very similar in Milan too.. it looks like a new crappy East Side Gallery in Berlin…
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I would think Milan would embrace this approach given its fashion background.
Agreed! I love how much the cities of Melbourne and Sydney support the street art movement–and the cities are much more interesting and beautiful because of it.
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Australia is on my list and I keep hearing how amazing Melbourne is for art.
They just re-did the underpasses for Paraguay and Soler that cross Juan B Justo. They are awesome. The Soler one is dedicated to ending Violence against women. I saw them working on it for days. I will have to take some photos and send them to you.
Glad to see Spain has great street art too!
Please yes send pictures. Spain is good but no one does street art better than Buenos Aires
Street art vs graffiti? Oh there’s no comparison. One is art and the other is vandalism.
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I love your street art pictures. My boyfriend used to do a lot of street art and he has also done some in our warehouse. I am excited to see the different art around the world. I will have to look for these in Spain. Thanks for sharing.
Granada has famous street artists, specifically one called “El Niño”, who started out spraying walls as a kid, but is now paid by the government to paint all around Granada. The graffiti isn’t under control much though, you still see a lot of it around the city unfortunately.
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I think that’s the number one thing I can’t help taking photos of: Street art. Though sometimes graffiti can be pretty incredible and say a lot about the culture. In San Cristobal I would constantly see political slogans that would be painted over the next day. Loved it.
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