Street Art Festival Guide: Summer Edition 2022
| The 2022 street art festival world continues to be rearranged. Maybe it's the long range effects of Covid. While some festivals have come roaring back since lockdown, better than ever, others have just disappeared. We've not escaped Covid's effects either: It's to blame for the postponed publication of our Summer 2022 Street Art Festival Guide. But here it is! Proudly co-published, again, with @streetartcalls. A couple of things to note. Canada's contribution to the street art festival calendar this summer is slammin'! If you're looking for a festival on an island (who isn't??), we've covered three in this edition of our guide. | |
JULY 2022 |
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Werchter, Belgium: North West Walls begins June 19 Arne Quinze connected Rock Werchter, one of the oldest (since 1976) and best European music festivals, to street art in 2014 with the introduction of North West Walls. Since then, he has curated the annually changing artwork on an organic, but architecturally precise, stack of shipping containers that are the backdrop for the music festival and its venue. Follow North West Walls on Instagram: @northwestwalls. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Olomouc, Czech Republic: SAFE
June 24 – September 20The collective effects of this small festival can be seen rippling throughout the charming Czech city of Olomouc. This year they've scored walls at the Moravian Theatre downtown, which will be painted in September. Follow SAFE on Instagram: @safe_cz. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Longlaville, France: Long Art Street June 25 – July 10 Small festival, big street art aspirations, coming to you from where the borders of France, Luxembourg and Belgium all meet up. This year's festival features a collab between Scaf (an organizer of the festival), Abys and Valer, who've done rad walls together before. Follow Long Art Street on Instagram: @longartstreet. |
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Lisbon, Portugal: Meeting of Styles Lisbon Warm Up July 6 – July 9 Street art soaked Lisbon is the locale for this event, meant to coincide with the 9th annual Urban Creativity Conference. It will take place at the historic tram incline of Calçada da Gloria in old Lisbon. This is a warm up for a larger event coming in August. Follow Meeting of Styles Portugal on Instagram: @meetingofstylespt. And learn more about the event here. |
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Festival Inspire Moncton, Canada: July 11 – July 16 Charlottetown, Canada: July 18 – July 23 Shediac, Canada: August 18 – August 27 A touring street art festival?? Heck yes! Moncton-based Festival Inspire took it on the road last year. It was so successful, they're doing it again this year. Follow Festival Inspire on Instagram: @festivalinspire. And learn more about the event here. |
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Rabat, Morocco: Rabat International Street Art Festival July 21 – July 31 The 7th edition of this one comes at you from Morocco’s capital city, Rabat, which dates to the 12th century and remains an important city to this day. The festival draws artists and attention from around the globe and has contributed many vivid large-scale murals to the cityscape. Follow Rabat International Street Art Festival on Instagram: @jidar_streetart. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Copenhagen, Denmark: MosCph July 22 – July 24 From the Meeting of Styles mothership in Germany comes this very successful iteration, now in its 8th year. This MOS is organized by Street Studies, an all volunteer nonprofit in Copenhagen and happens 5 minutes from Tivoli, the world's third oldest amusement park. Follow MosCph on Instagram: @meetingofstyles_cph. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Rochester, New York, USA: WALL/THERAPY July 23 – July 31 The doctors are in the house! Drs. Ian Wilson and Erich Lehman have co-curated WALL/THERAPY since they invited four South African artists to Rochester to paint in 2011. The event is a love letter to the city from the docs and has extensive community support, but this will be both their 10 year anniversary and their last festival. They're not going anywhere, just no more festival. Follow WALL/THERAPY on Instagram: @walltherapyny. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Bol, Croatia: Graffiti Na Gradele July 29 – July 30 We could think of worse things than a street art festival located in a small port town on an island (Brač) with a beach that's a natural wonder (Zlatni Rat). Add a live music and DJ component to the mix and you've got all the ingredients for a rad summer party! Follow Graffiti Na Gradele on Instagram: @graffitinagradele. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Priština, Kosovo: Meeting of Styles Kosovo July 29 – July 31 Kosovo's capital city is feeling itself these days. In addition to hosting MOS Kosovo this summer, the largest street art festival in the country now in its 6th year, it will also play host to Manifesta, the European Nomadic Biennial. Follow Meeting of Styles Kosovo on Instagram: @mos_kosovo. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Cheltenham Paint Festival July 30 – July 31 After a hiatus last year, CPF is back in a big way to celebrate their fifth birthday with renewed community support and an emphasis on women artists. This festival, the brainchild of artist Andy "Dice" Davies (aka Dice67), has transformed this spa town in the Cotswolds. Follow Cheltenham Paint Festival Festival on Instagram: @cheltenhampaintfestival. And learn more about the festival here. |
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AUGUST 2022 |
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Eureka, California, USA: Eureka Street Art Festival August 1 – August 6 Celebrating its 5th anniversary, this festival takes on a new neighborhood every year in the coastal city of Eureka in California's Redwood Empire. The walls of the Bridge District, featuring, um, lots of bridges, will be painted this year. Follow Eureka Street Art Festival on Instagram: @eurekastreetartfestival. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Vienna, Austria: Calle Libre August 1 – August 7 Running since 2014 and responsible for much of the proliferation of street art around Vienna, this year's Calle Libre festival will concentrate on painting the walls of a 400 meter long warehouse at the site of the former Nordwestbahnhof railway yard. Follow Calle Libre on Instagram: @callelibre. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Sardinia, Italy: Festival Della Resilienza August 1 – August 10 Originally taking place exclusively in Macomer, this festival, established in 2015, has since spread its artwork further afield in Sardinia. The festival's founder ProPositivo is attempting to establish a park, "Muraghes," to foster appreciation for both contemporary street art and the ancient nuraghes (megalithic buildings) that have come to symbolize Sardinia. Follow Festival Della Resilienza on Instagram: @festivaldellaresilienza. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Ibiza, Spain: BLOOP Festival August 1 – August 20 Once again, you had me at island. But this veteran festival, established in 2010, really brings it when it comes to artwork. Last year famed street art photographer Martha Cooper attended to present a show of her work. Follow BLOOP Festival on Instagram: @bloopfestival. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Calgary, Canada: BUMP Festival August 2 – August 28 BUMP (Beltline Urban Murals Project) only launched in 2017, but they've already had a huge impact on Calgary's cityscape. This year, German artist DAIM has created the world's tallest mural for the festival. Follow BUMP Festival on Instagram: @yycbump. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Vancouver, Canada: Vancouver Mural Festival August 4 – August 14 From grassroots endeavor to a star on the world stage, the Vancouver Mural Festival is a fairy tale success story. Able to draw talent from all over the globe, Vancouver's walls are a veritable who's who of street art stars: OSGEMEOS, Okuda, Bunnie Reiss, David Shillinglaw, Ola Volo, KASHINK. Follow Vancouver Mural Festival on Instagram: @vanmuralfest. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Wilhelmshaven, Germany: StreetArt Festival Wilhelmshaven August 5 – August 7 This will be the 10th anniversary for this festival on Germany's North Sea Coast. Of particular interest is the 3D street painting component of this event. Truly wild stuff! Follow StreetArt Festival Wilhelmshaven on Instagram: @streetart_wilhelmshaven. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Ploiesti, Romania: Artown Festival August 5 – August 14 NEW festival!! Romanian street art is the bomb, but everyone thinks mostly of Bucharest. Festivals are popping up all over the country though, including this newbie about an hour north of Bucharest in Romania's "most beautiful ugly city." Follow Artown Festival on Instagram: @artown_festival. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Edmond, Oklahoma, USA: Sunny Dayz Mural Festival August 6 This'll be the second edition of this one-of-a-kind festival meant to empower and celebrate self-identifying women and nonbinary street artists. Sunny Dayz is another successful festival from Oklahoma Mural Syndicate (Plaza Walls is their big one), a nonprofit dedicated to creating public art in Oklahoma. Follow Sunny Dayz Mural Festival on Instagram: @sunnydayzmuralfest. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Nelson, Canada: Nelson International Mural Festival August 12 – August 14 Located in a beautiful hippie town in the mountains of British Columbia, this festival is celebrating its fifth anniversary. This year's edition will feature a wall by First Nations artist, Damian John. Follow Nelson International Mural Festival on Instagram: @nelsoninternationalmuralfest. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Darwin Street Art Festival Darwin suburbs, Australia: August 12 – August 20 Darwin downtown, Australia: August 26 – September 5 Festival curator David Collins does not remember there being public art in Darwin when he was growing up, so he's done his all to change that. This year's festival will incorporate the suburbs of Darwin, as well as downtown. A festival highlight: There's a screening of Martha: A Picture Story on September 1. Follow the Darwin Street Art Festival on Instagram: @darwinstreetartfestival. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Accra, Ghana: Chale Wote Street Art Festival August 12 – August 21 Begun in 2010 as an artist-led street art exhibition and food fair, Chale Wote has exploded into West Africa's largest street art and performance art festival, now attended by tens of thousands every year. It's become a global destination for cutting edge art, performance and culture. Follow Chale Wote Street Art Festival on Instagram: @chalewoteofficial. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Waterford, Ireland: Waterford Walls August 12 – August 21 Yes, Ireland's largest street art festival is in this port city founded by Vikings in 914 and home to the famed crystal company. Waterford Walls, mounted every year by The Walls Project since 2015, is responsible for over 100 awesome murals in the city. Follow Waterford Walls on Instagram: @waterfordwalls. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Antwerp, Belgium: Meeting of Styles Belgium August 19 – August 21 This is a legit OG offshoot of the MOS mothership: They turn 20 this year!! Follow Meeting of Styles Belgium on Instagram: @meetingofstylesbelgium. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Toronto, Canada: Yorkville Murals August 20 – August 28 It's no secret that Alan Ganev, the founder of Yorkville Murals, aims to restore some of the artistic cachet once associated with Toronto's Yorkville neighborhood: It was the center of hippie culture in Canada in the 60s, before it became once of the country's most exclusive shopping districts. Follow Yorkville Murals on Instagram: @yorkvillemurals. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Bacau, Romania: ZIDART Street Art Festival August 25 – September 20 This festival's roots are new, but it's put up 52 murals since it began in 2017 in one of Romania's oldest cities, known for its Medieval architecture. Follow ZIDART Street Art Festival on Instagram: @zidart_streetartfestival. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Pressigny-les-Pins, France: La Bel Valette Festival August 26 – August 27 This one's actually a hip hop concert festival with a twist: The backdrop is the 19th century Chateau de la Valette, which gets repainted by a new street artist every year. Help them celebrate their fifth anniversary! It's only an hour outside Paris. Follow La Bel Valette Festival on Instagram: @labelvalettefestival. And learn more about the festival here. |
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Flöha, Germany: IBUg Urban Art Festival August 26 – August 28 September 2 – September 4 Begun in 2006 by German artist Tasso, IBUg adopts a neglected industrial property every year and covers its walls with artwork. A former colored paper factory is this year's site. Festival programming will happen over two successive weekends. Follow IBUg Urban Art Festival on Instagram: @ibug.art. And learn more about the festival here. |
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