Latest news with #murals
France 24
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- France 24
Sarajevo street art marks out brighter future
A half-pipe of technicolour snakes its way through the verdant Mount Trebevic, once an Olympic bobsled route -- now layered in ever-changing art. "It's a really good place for artists to come here to paint, because you can paint here freely," Kerim Musanovic told AFP, spraycan in hand as he repaired his work on the former site of the 1984 Sarajevo Games. Retouching his mural of a dragon, his painting's gallery is this street art hotspot between the pines. Like most of his work, he paints the fantastic, as far removed from the divisive political slogans that stain walls elsewhere in the Balkan nation. "I want to be like a positive view. When you see my murals or my artworks, I don't want people to think too much about it. "It's for everyone." During the Bosnian war, 1992-1995, Sarajevo endured the longest siege in modern conflict, as Bosnian Serb forces encircled and bombarded the city for 44 months. Attacks on the city left over 11,500 people dead, injured 50,000 and forced tens of thousands to flee. But in the wake of a difficult peace, that divided the country into two autonomous entities, Bosnia's economy continues to struggle leaving the physical scars of war still evident around the city almost three decades on. 'A form of therapy' "After the war, segregation, politics, and nationalism were very strong, but graffiti and hip-hop broke down all those walls and built new bridges between generations," local muralist Adnan Hamidovic, also known as rapper Frenkie, said. Frenkie vividly remembers being caught by police early in his career, while tagging trains bound for Croatia in the northwest Bosnian town of Tuzla. The 43-year-old said the situation was still tense then, with police suspecting he was doing "something political". For the young artist, only one thing mattered: "Making the city your own". Graffiti was a part of Sarajevo life even during the war, from signs warning of sniper fire to a bulletproof barrier emblazoned with the words "Pink Floyd" -- a nod to the band's 1979 album The Wall. Sarajevo Roses -- fatal mortar impact craters filled with red resin -- remain on pavements and roads around the city as a memorial to those killed in the strikes. When he was young, Frenkie said the thrill of illegally painting gripped him, but it soon became "a form of therapy" combined with a desire to do something significant in a country still recovering from war. "Sarajevo, after the war, you can imagine, it was a very, very dark place," he said at Manifesto gallery where he exhibited earlier this year. "Graffiti brought life into the city and also colour." 'A way of resisting' Sarajevo's annual Fasada festival, first launched in 2021, has helped promote the city's muralists while also repairing buildings, according to artist and founder Benjamin Cengic. "We look for overlooked neighbourhoods, rundown facades," Cengic said. His team fixes the buildings that will also act as the festival's canvas, sometimes installing insulation and preserving badly damaged homes in the area. The aim is to "really work on creating bonds between local people, between artists". Mostar, a city in southern Bosnia, will also host the 14th edition of its annual street art festival in August. With unemployment nearing 30 percent in Bosnia, street art also offers an important springboard to young artists, University of Sarajevo sociology professor Sarina Bakic said. "The social context for young people is very difficult," Bakic said. Ljiljana Radosevic, a researcher at Finland's Jyvaskyla University, said graffiti allowed youth to shake off any "nationalist narrative or imposed identity". "It's a way of resisting," Radosevic said. © 2025 AFP
BBC News
6 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Hereford County Hospital to get three nature-inspired murals
An artist is creating a series of nature-inspired murals to add colour to the outside of a Hylton rolled up his sleeves to commence spray painting three large art works on the walls of the MRU and Radiotherapy Unit at Hereford County new creations are said to celebrate Herefordshire's "natural beauty" and will feature apple blossoms, robins, kingfishers and woodpeckers. Work to create them began on for the murals was provided by donations to the Oncology Trust Fund, which supports enhancements that benefit patients and staff beyond essential service delivery needs. The post on the Wye Valley NHS Trust's Facebook page said passers-by wanting to watch the progress would be welcome to during the next couple of weeks. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Street art festival leaving 'real legacy'
Covering some of a seaside town's buildings with murals is creating a "real legacy", says the founder of a street art festival. Artists are painting murals across Weston-super-Mare until 27 July as part of the fifth Weston Wallz event. The town's artistic takeover is organised by the Upfest team - who put on Europe's largest street art and graffiti festival in south Bristol. Steve Hayles, co-founder of Upfest, said starting Wallz five years ago in Weston-super-Mare was "pushing the boundary". The town is hosting 50 artists painting 19 murals - which will bring the total number of murals created in Weston-super-Mare during Wallz over the years to 75. And the street artists have come from all over the world. More news stories for Somerset Listen to the latest news for Somerset Sophie Odling, who travelled from Australia to cover part of seafront pub Captains Cabin in a mural, said the event had lots of benefits for the town. "It's so rewarding to be able to contribute art to the local people. "It brings culture and art to the outdoors... it creates a lot of interest and whole different vibes, it draws a lot of tourism to the area as well," she said. Mr Hayles said putting art in public spaces was positive for people who could not get to galleries. "A lot of people find it difficult to go into museums and galleries so having artwork on the street creates conversation," he said. "Whether you like it or you don't, ultimately you've got an opinion. That's the really great thing about putting it in a public space," he added. Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. More on this story Street art festival returns to city for 2024 New murals unveiled at city rail station Related internet links Upfest
BBC News
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Weston-super-Mare Wallz street art festival leaving 'real legacy'
Covering some of a seaside town's buildings with murals is creating a "real legacy", says the founder of a street art festival. Artists are painting murals across Weston-super-Mare until 27 July as part of the fifth Weston Wallz town's artistic takeover is organised by the Upfest team - who put on Europe's largest street art and graffiti festival in south Hayles, co-founder of Upfest, said starting Wallz five years ago in Weston-super-Mare was "pushing the boundary". The town is hosting 50 artists painting 19 murals - which will bring the total number of murals created in Weston-super-Mare during Wallz over the years to 75. And the street artists have come from all over the world. Sophie Odling, who travelled from Australia to cover part of seafront pub Captains Cabin in a mural, said the event had lots of benefits for the town. "It's so rewarding to be able to contribute art to the local people."It brings culture and art to the outdoors... it creates a lot of interest and whole different vibes, it draws a lot of tourism to the area as well," she said. Mr Hayles said putting art in public spaces was positive for people who could not get to galleries."A lot of people find it difficult to go into museums and galleries so having artwork on the street creates conversation," he said."Whether you like it or you don't, ultimately you've got an opinion. That's the really great thing about putting it in a public space," he added.
BBC News
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
North Shields giant artworks spark 'amazingly positive' reaction
Two giant murals created as part of a town's 800th anniversary celebrations have had a positive impact, the art festival's organisers are the first of a total of eight large-scale works on blank walls on locations around North Shields, in North Tyneside, over the by Elevation, they are part of a festival marking its history from a small village of simple huts - or shiels - into a thriving harbour completed two have sparked hundreds of likes on social media with comments being "overwhelmingly positive". Dutch artist Nina Valkhoff, who created the first mural in the town centre, said people had often stopped to watch her at work and had been "very encouraging".The second, by street artist KMG and based on a river god, covers the side of a large building on the Fish on the third is due to start on Monday. Stuart Fern from Elevation said there had been hundreds of comments on social media, which had been overwhelmingly said: "The feedback has been amazing, I know these things are often quite divisive but this has been so positive."It's had a huge impact, I've even heard about tourists from Portugal and Sweden commenting.""They are really stunning, and will still be there in 10 or 15 years time - their legacy will last." The artworks are part of the North Shields 800 celebrations, marking the emergence of the town from a small village on the bank of the River Tyne to serve Tynemouth Priory into a thriving harbour Tyneside Council has now announced that a £132,160 grant had been awarded to the Linskill and North Tyneside Community Development Trust which would manage the funds on behalf of North Shields would be used to support 10 projects to safeguard the town's maritime, industrial, railway and arts heritage. Follow BBC Newcastle on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
