One of the things I was most excited about seeing in Warsaw was the street art. I knew there were some amazing pieces in the city, and even heard rumours of a Phlegm, my favourite street artist. Sadly, this piece no longer exists.
Following an excellent street art tour in London, I was keen to flex my new street art knowledge and maybe even discover some new favourites.
When I used to think of street art, I didn’t actually imagine street art.
Instead my brain would conjure up a mental picture of graffiti. I drew on my memories of countless American movies for reference. Most times I pictured a subway train, or a basketball court surrounded by brick apartment blocks. On the walls of these would be scrawled innumerable tags and gang symbols, all swirling and overlapping and clashing with each other. Sometimes there would be a much larger, overruling set of block letters that no other aspiring artist had yet defaced.
This, my brain confidently told me, was street art.
Fortunately, through development of common sense and education from experienced sources, I’ve learned that street art and graffiti are not the same thing, and that neither needs to involve just writing your name down. Sometimes it can be used to send a powerful message. Sometimes it can make an ugly, blank wall into the colourful focal point of a street.
Warsaw has street art to spare in both cases. While visiting the city, we were very happy to find large and creative pieces all over the place! It made for a welcome break from our darker Warsaw excursions.
In this article I’m going to showcase two areas of interest to whet your appetite. This by no means covers all of the visual wonder there is to find in Warsaw. Locations are provided for some of the more famous pieces, but I find that half the fun of street art is randomly stumbling upon an enormous mural from out of nowhere!
Warsaw Street Art Part 1: The Tibetan Gallery
The Tibetan Gallery is located (funnily enough) at the Tibet Roundabout in the Wola distict of Warsaw. The Dalai Lama visited Warsaw in 2009. Following this visit, the gallery was created to showcase artwork depicting the Tibetan struggle against oppression from China.
Since its inception the gallery has been constantly developing, with new works being added every year. Both established artists and groups of Warsaw citizens contribute street art to this outdoor installation.
The gallery is located underneath the Aleja Prymasa Tysiaclecia road, which crosses Rondo Tybetu (Tibet Roundabout), in the Wola district. Busses and metros run there frequently, and it’s very easy to find!
The artwork even extends across to the side of the road.
For artist information, news about the gallery and to find out more, visit their website.
WARSAW STREET ART PART 2: PRAGA
On the other side of the Vistula river lies the district of Praga. Following our visit to the Katyn Museum, I took the metro to the Czynszowa 01 stop, which turned out to be a good starting spot to explore. Following the tracks further forwards and around the corner I was greeted with this:
I love the different forms that street art can take. A huge wall like this really is just an enormous blank canvas for the artist’s imagination! This piece speaks to me. It reminds me of growing up in the UK; heading down to the local playground to climb on things.
This street has a few pieces on it. Some, like the This Way Mural (below) have faded due to age. That’s to be expected (it was created in 2012), but this one is particularly saddening as the one opposite it (Ania) is a result of corporate sponsorship, and still looks fairly new.
Both (and more) are on Stalowa Street.
Around the corner, on Srodkowa Street, lies another prominent piece of Warsaw street art:
I love the period clothing twist to add nuance to what is essentially a depiction of street violence. The deliberate drip of the red paint also adds more than a hint of suggestion. Clearly the local councilors thought so, as there were apparently concerns that this mural might lead to actual fighting.
(Full disclosure: I should mention that the light was starting to fade at this point in my photographic journey. Just in case anyone is thinking that the pictures are getting a little … dark)
This multi-eyed, pink gentleman seemed to pop up in more than a couple of places on my route (and throughout Warsaw). If anyone knows the artist’s name, please let us know in the comments below!
THINGS START TO GET WEIRDER
Knowing that I had limited time as the sun began to set, I picked up my pace a little. A couple of streets over I ran into these flags, and duly popped out my camera.
As I’d stopped, I looked around at the wall I’d passed and BANG!
These happy chappies and the flags opposite are in the entrance to the courtyard of the bar “Hydrozagadka”. There wasn’t anyone about at the time, so without having my introvert senses assaulted I ventured inside. And what an assortment there is to find! Not least, this large collection of increasingly psychedelic images:
At one point I found two strikingly different pieces, right next to each other. At the entrance to Zabkowska street, this enormous mural is the first thing to catch your eye:
… and just below it …
Art is not always limited to two dimensions in Praga! I enjoy the particular style Marek Sulek has put into these blue angels: playful and cartoon-like, and ever so slightly creepy. Having spent the afternoon looking at flat surfaces, I wasn’t expecting something like this!
But if that came out of the blue (haha), it had nothing on what I found next: an entire building covered in tin foil!
With the light well and truly dying, my trek drew to a close by one last wall of colourful street art. Having just witnessed an entire building covered in foil, it seemed appropriate that it had a 60’s LSD theme:
I thoroughly recommend spending a day wandering around Praga. There’s so much street art to see and it changes so often, sometimes daily!
It’s no wonder there’s an annual international street art festival (held in Warsaw in late June to early July each year). I wonder what we’ll find when we return … ?
LOOKING FOR MORE THINGS TO DO IN WARSAW?
– Dark Tourism Sites and Museums in Warsaw
– The Katyn Museum: Remembering a Forgotten Massacre
– Recharging at Pinball Station in Warsaw
» See even more to do here in Krakow
WANT MORE STREET ART?
– Street Art in Krakow: Colourful, Cultural and Controversial
– When the City is a Sketchbook: Street Art in Ljubljana
– Dope Art Tours: Changing Perceptions About Street Art in London
Have you been to Warsaw? Did you find some cool street art? Was there anything unusual wrapped in tin foil? (Is it an epidemic?) Let us know in the comments below!
