5 cities, the world of street art, and apps to capture it

No matter where you go in the world, street art is an ubiquitous facet of the city landscape which, if you look thoroughly enough, can be found in nearly all cities.  Certainly, when it comes to street art, it’s what I’m guilty of overseeing; quite often I don’t even care to notice. 

However, a new found interest, and my last blog made me to take a note of relatively less-known cities with profound street art culture. Ultimately, that made me to write this blog 

Heerlen, The Netherlands 

Around two and a half hour drive from Amsterdam lies the city of Heerlen famous for its street wall murals. Every year renowned graffiti artists from The Netherland and outside gather in Heerlen to take part in one of the largest Street Art festivals in Europe.  

Last year’s theme was “There’s more than meets the eye” and it dealt with the diversity and the ‘do it yourself’-mentality of the artform.  

 Although there is nothing like going all the way to Heerlen and experiencing the artform in person, an iOS app developed by Scholica, Street Art Heerlen offers the next best experience. 

The app explores you through the street art scenes of the city. The Heerlen Mural app shows all the street arts on a map. You can get directions to the locations most of which are within walkable distance if you are around the city center.  

If you aren’t in the city yet like to check the murals, from the app you check photos of artworks sorted to artists. 

Antwerp, Belgium 

Antwerp had an artistic reputation since the 17th century, based on its school of painting, which included Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, the two Teniers and many others.Although the school is gone, its imprints are still visible in its street arts. The way the Flemish city has embraced the modern art inspires me. How many cities have you visited that have designated areas dedicated to street art.  

 In case Antwerp isn’t on your itinerary this fall, consider downloading Street Art Antwerp by Scholica which offers the nearest experience.    Every street art in the city is visible on a map, you can tap on any of those to check the photos of the walls there. If you’re in Antwerp you can also get walking and bicycle direction to the street art locations.

 Dublin, Ireland

The capital of Ireland may not be the first city that comes to your mind when you think ‘street art’. But the city has upheld a lot of transformation lately and now can proactively proclaim its ‘street art’ city status with Dublin City Council itself backing and endorsing artists. 

Once considered an underground activity in Dublin, street art, graffiti, mural painting are now an integral part of the city.    

Street Art Dublin by John Healy is a crowd sourcing app that encourages people to photograph street art and graffiti from around Dublin City and upload it by means of the app. 

For people living outside the city but in love with the culture already, the graffiti app provides rich illustration of the street art in the city. Every street art, mural, graffiti has a location on the map. 

Zurich, Switzerland

From messy, out of place painting to stunning 3D images, there is something very intensive about Zurich’s street art. I can’t describe it in words; you’ll know when you see. The beauty of those wall painting lies in their absurdity.  

In case you want a first-person view, you can download Street Art Archive Zürich by Steffen Jakob, which not only shows pictures and give directions but also give accounts about the street arts as you browse over them. Some accounts will also tell you what made the artist to draw it. What it indicates and his psyche. 

An old man inside the bars and a young man outside it. Both wearing black goggles and the art was drawn on door. It made me think for a long-long time.      

 Istanbul, Turkey

A visiting artist once described Istanbul art scene as troublesome. A place where the east meets the west, where Roman and Ottoman cultures intersect, the capital of Turkey was named the European Capital of Culture in 2010 although. 

The street art culture in the city revolves around Mural Istanbul, one of the city’s most prominent street art festivals and The Streetart Festival İstanbul, Turkey's first annual street art and post-graffiti festival. 

Unlike the rest of the Europe, modern art is foreign to Turkey’s culture. Istanbul’s street art culture has grown significantly in the last few years.  

Mural Istanbul was a greater success. It all started when the founders of Mural Istanbul saw many blank walls in their neighborhood, and they did not like it. So they pitched the idea to Kadıköy Municipality and rest is history.     

 The app Street Art Istanbul by Sureyya Onur Erdemol brings together an assortment of modern street art spaces in the beautiful city of Istanbul. You can also learn about artists: No More Lie, Canavar, etc. You can scan the neighboring area for any new street art in the city.   

London and New York are without a down, culture epicenters of modern street art and I know they conspicuous by their absence. I left them on purpose. I included city that are relatively less known for their cultures. 

However, the art culture of these two as close to my heart as any of you.