Street Art in Lisbon
Street art, urban art, public art
If graffiti in London’s Shoreditch, Charlie’s street art tour in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the urban art in Cologne already left you impressed, Lisbon will make you speechless. Street Art isn’t hard to find in the Portuguese capital. There is so much that Charlie had a hard time keeping up and marking places on the map whilst being on public transport. Luckily, when you put “street art” in Google Maps, it shows you some of the official artwork and you can create your own route. It does not show every graffiti in town, but some of the most important ones, and it helps you plan your route. Keep an eye out in between the stops as you might find some more gems.
Art as part of the urban landscape
There is something special about street art and murals in Lisbon. As a visitor, you easily get the impression that it is more supported than in other places and that impression is true. The city council has since 2008 a separate commission called Galeria de Arte Urbana (Urban Art Gallery) that oversees artistic activity that involves walls in the city. They also keep the city “clean” in the sense that walls with graffiti that is considered vandalism are regularly painted over or commissioned to create murals.
Another institution that shapes the artistic face of Lisbon is the Underdogs Gallery. They consider themselves a “cultural platform” with an exhibition space. They establish connections between artists and the public. If a property owner would like to see a wall decorated with a mural, they can reach out to Underdogs to find an artist to commission the wall to. Whilst these murals are commissioned artworks, Charlie has not seen any advertising murals in Lisbon, only walls that allowed for full artistic freedom. They prefer the term “public art” over “street art” or “urban art” because it is art created for the public.
Some walls in Lisbon were specifically given to artist collectives to brighten up the quarter or prevent vandalism and criminal activity.
Another example of Lisbon being very welcoming for street art are the electricity boxes in several places of the city. They were given colour by a the portuguese-brazilian artist Manoel Quitério, with permission by the electricity company.
Lisbon Street Art Tours
There are official street art tours in Lisbon where you get information about the urban art you see and could even book a workshop to get hands-on yourself. That sounded like an adventure Charlie didn’t want to miss.
The tour started on a Sunday morning at the square Martim Moniz. The guide Zizi showed the group around the quarters of Mouraria and Graca pointing out several art works and their stories.
One mural stood out and was a demonstration of the many details artists put into their works. Charlie compares it to watching the night sky: The longer you watch, the more you see. The topic is the refugee crisis in Europe. A girl is building a wall in the coulours of the flag of the European Union. She wears sunglasses. In the reflection of the glasses are refugee boats. If you stand in front of it you slowly realize that the reflection puts the spectator in the position of the refugees.
Zizi did not only talk about the street art in Lisbon, but also shared information about the origins of street art and certain techniques. Charlie remembered some of the things she mentioned from the street art tour in Brooklyn she had done the year before.
Street Art in Graca
Graca had been recommended to Charlie during the free walking tour in Lisbon as a place with plenty of graffiti and was also part of the street art tour. The stairs leading up to the viewpoint, Miradouro do Graca, are decorated with plenty of art. Some of them, unfortunately, have been sprayed over by other graffiti, but most of them are in good condition and turn it into a lovely walk up to the viewpoint.
Artists that shaped the city
Vhils
During the Alfama walking tour, Rita guided the group to a special piece of urban art by a street artist called Vhils. His art shows mostly faces and it is special because of the technique of bas-relief carving. His art therefore consists of painted pieces of wall and gaps. It mixes the original technique of graffiti where inscriptions were graved in walls with the modern technique of spray painting. The most impressive technique though is what he calls “controlled explosions”.
Vhils, Alexandre Farto, is a Portuguese street artist who was first invited to exhibit his work next to Banksy’s at the age of 11. It was the foundation of a great career in street art. His work is special in the way that it is destruction and creation at the same time.
Shepard Fairey
This US-American artist is also known as Obey Giant for the sticker campaign “Andre the Giant”. This iconic face is part of his tag and you can see it in several murals in Lisbon. The sticker too is visible in certain corners. You could almost turn it into a game to count the Giants. And before you ask, yes, the artist is the same guy behind the skateboarding brand Obey.
Who’s Henry?
This street artist is mostly known for leaving the phrase “Who the F*** is Henry?” in several places all over the city. Once you’ve seen, you will see even more of it. The black letters and the red dot are certainly recognizable and almost like branding. It’s what we could call “guerilla graffiti”.
Camilla Watson
Her work is remarkable because she is not a street artist as the others, but a photographer. One of her most important exhibitions is in the quarter of Alfama where she photographed some of the original inhabitants to bring their pictures up in the streets. She has done similar works in Mouraria and Graca. Some of her works show important characters for Portuguese culture, e.g. the Fado singer Amália Rodrigues.
Parking lot art
There was one more spot the guide Rita had recommended on their way to the Alfama walking tour: a multi-story car park at the lift to the castle (“elevador do castelo”). All 6 floors of the parking lot had been given to street artists to decorate the walls. Charlie had to be very careful walking around with the camera. It was an active car park after all. It also was at times difficult to get a good picture as cars were parked in front of the art.
LX Factory
It is the Shoreditch of Lisbon: LX Factory is a creative complex with more than a dozen art works, murals and trash animals. There are some small shops and restaurants too – the perfect place to get dinner or drinks at the end of the day.
Yes You Can Spray
When Charlie was in Lisbon for the first time, the tour guides of Lisbon Street Art Tours and the collective Yes You Can Spray arranged a special event for International Women’s day. Ten female street artists were live spraying at a parking lot in the quarter of Graca.
At the end of the street art tour, Charlie and the other participants had the opportunity to hold a spray can and decorate a tote bag. They set up on the floor in front of a mural. Just as they were about to start, a man approached them. He asked what they were about to do and was seriously concerned they would damage the mural. It’s not only an example of courage, but also proves how much the murals are a part of the city of Lisbon and how important they are for the inhabitants.
