As you might already know from my article about street art in Hong Kong, I have a tremendous weakness for mural paintings. I practically jumped for joy when I found out that Valencia is full of street art. Especially the neighbourhood of El Carmen is a mural paradise. At that moment, I wanted nothing but to wander through the artistic streets like I was in an open-air gallery. The mural pieces match perfectly with the colourful houses & the labyrinth of streets, and make the streetscape of Valencia even more unique.

The origin of mural paintings in Valencia is an interesting one. In this city you find run-down neighbourhoods and streets with abandoned buildings and empty walls. Many upcoming local artists saw this as a great opportunity to both add some additional colours to the city and increase the engagement of people with the neighbourhoods.  Although it is disputable whether graffiti is street art or vandalism, there is an increasing admiration for it from both local inhabitants and tourists. The increasing recognition of murals in Valencia has also attracted a lot of international artists flying over to Valencia to create inspiring mural masterpieces.

As every artist has a unique style and a different message to bring across, every painting is special in its own way. I really had a great time exploring the different paintings and interpreting each one of them. From many paintings across the city you can immediately tell that they were painted by the same artist.

I believe there are still a lot of mural paintings which I have not spotted yet. This asks for another trip to Valencia soon. Which one is your favourite mural? Are you curious about what else Valencia has to offer? Then take a look at my Valencia guide.

Until next time!

Love always,

Mee-Ling