Street Art in Berlin – Mural Art Highlights

Street art has had a meteoric rise. For a long time, it was not only vilified by the public as vandalism, but also explicitly perceived by its proponents as a form of expression against the establishment.

The scene, also marketed as "urban art," not only diversified stylistically but has also established itself as a renowned art form. All over the world, you can now find dedicated museums and city tours specializing in street art in general and subgenres like mural art in particular.

Cities advertise to tourists with the most famous works, and the community has long been producing its own global superstars.

Berlin is no exception. Like so much else, the history of urban art in this city is shaped by the Cold War, division, and reunification. Immigration has also left a clearly visible mark. Berlin is now considered a metropolis within the scene itself and has even had its own museum for contemporary urban art .

The global triumph of street art

The history of public murals dates back at least to ancient Egypt. Inscriptions on rocks, tombs, statues, and temples can be traced back to the 3rd millennium BC. This form of communication has likely always served a political function and is a common feature across numerous cultures.

Besides conveying political messages, this explicitly public art form also fulfilled another function: positioning oneself within the public sphere . For example, since the late 19th century, American migrant workers left so-called "monikers" on railroad cars. Since the 1930s, graffiti in public spaces in the United States has also been attributed to rival organized gangs who used it to mark their territory.

Most people, however, associate street art with the "graffiti boom" in New York since the late 1960s. It largely merged with the roughly contemporaneous emergence of hip hop culture and, together with it, began its triumphant march around the world, at the latest since the 1980s. Today, it is an indispensable part fashion

The history of street art in Berlin

In Germany, political murals became well-known, among other things, through the work of the White Rose resistance group. They expressed their resistance through stencil graffiti and lettering in oil paint on walls in Munich. US soldiers also left their mark on German walls early on.

Urban art truly took hold punk scene in West Berlin was particularly active in this regard Turkish migrants also used this form of expression to make their voices heard in public spaces.

Relevant films like “Wild Style!” fueled this development. western side of the Berlin Wall served, not least, iconic projection screen for artistic and political ambitions .

Public spaces in the eastern part of the city were also painted. Naturally, artistic freedom was considerably restricted if the works were not to be removed immediately. Inspiration came primarily from the "Beat Street," Harry Belafonte, – and thus tolerated noteworthy artworks could also be found on the prefabricated apartment blocks of Marzahn

After reunification, Berlin quickly developed into a paradise for urban art. Newly developed areas, vacant buildings, and squatting created opportunities that other cities could only dream of. West Berlin artists collaborated on joint projects with artists from East Berlin, and numerous international artists enriched the scene.

A great overview of the most important spots can be found, for example, in the Street Art Map from Defshop .

Street art highlights in Berlin

the urban art landscape isn't always easy. It's rarely permanent. Buildings are demolished, works are painted over or dismantled, and the scene is constantly evolving. Artists move on or never become known in the first place, especially since large parts of the art still operate in a legal gray area. Nevertheless, some iconic works categorized.

East Side Gallery

One of the most famous places to admire street art is the East Side Gallery . This preserved section of the Berlin Wall is now an open-air gallery. Painted in 1990 over a length of 1300 meters by 118 artists from 21 countries, this section is now a popular destination for many visitors to Berlin.

Urban Nation Museum and Bülowstraße

the Urban Nation Museum for Contemporary Urban Art, developed curator and gallery owner Yasha Young, has been located on Bülowstraße in Schöneberg . Visitors can admire not only the first attempt to translate the spirit of street art into the space of a museum.

The design of the building's facade is also regularly delegated to some of the most renowned names in the scene. In the vicinity of Bülowstrasse, you will also find a collection of impressive mural art, such as "No Future" by Shepard Fairey or "Created" by Phlegm .

Oranienstraße and Wiener Straße

The mural art tradition of old Kreuzberg can be particularly well admired around Oranienstraße. This mural art mile stretches from Moritzplatz, near which Jadore Tong 's "No Comment" is prominently displayed, to Görlitzer Bahnhof with ROA 's "Nature Morte" .

Behind the train station, the artistic murals continue along Wiener Straße, where you will find a collage-like mural by Elle with an extension by 1UP.

Wedding

Long considered an insider tip, Wedding has also developed into a meeting place for artists and art enthusiasts.

, “Murals for the Kidz in the Hood” by Lake Oner on Adolfstrasse in the Leopoldkiez district .

Marzahn-Hellersdorf

Marzahn-Hellersdorf is a relatively new addition to the urban art map. As part of the Mural Fest 2019, artists ranging from Victor Ash to the artist group “Die Dixons” a total of seven building walls here.

Urban Nation: Street Art in Berlin | Euromaxx (video)

Top Street Art Artists in Berlin

For the reasons already described, exhaustive lists of relevant artists, especially in the field of street art, are difficult to compile. Nevertheless, you will find large-scale works by some internationally renowned artists scattered throughout the city, which deserve a mention.

Shepard Fairey

Shepard Fairey became known to a wider audience primarily through his Hope campaign for former US President Barack Obama. His tongue-in-cheek marketing campaign, “Obey Giant,” has also long since found its way into youth culture (even when not entirely ironic). Works like “No Future” and “Make Art not War” are true flagship pieces of Berlin’s mural art scene.

Jim Avignon

Jim Avignon's colorful, pop-inspired characters have long been a household name beyond the subculture.

His critically cheerful works can be found at venues such as Artpark Tegel and the Tagesspiegel newspaper.

ROA

The works of the artist ROA are considerably darker, but equally impressive. He mostly depicts living and dead animals in a drawn aesthetic. His best-known works are located on Oranienstraße and Schönhauser Allee.

Herakut

Jasmin Siddiqui (Hera) and Falk Lehmann (Akut) work together as an artist duo, addressing themes that they believe connect all people in the world. Many of their works revolve around the fictional siblings Lily and Jake and feature fantastical elements.

Her works can be found, among other places, on Alt-Stralau and Stromstraße.

Nomad

The Berlin-based artist Nomad's style is stylistically close to Pop Art . Accordingly, many of his works address the increasing commercialization of street art.

His work “Rounded Heads” can be seen on Oppelner Straße in the Wrangelkiez district.

1UP (One United Power)

If you keep your eyes open in Berlin, you will almost inevitably see the works of the Berlin artist collective 1UP.

The group's spectacular, mostly political works range between style writing and large-scale paint roller aesthetics and can be found in prominent locations throughout the city.

Thierry Noir

One of the early representatives of the capital's mural art scene is the Frenchman Thierry Noir.

His colorful, bug-eyed heads can be seen, among other places, at the East Side Gallery.

The city as an open-air museum

Any listings of a vibrant cultural scene like urban art are naturally incomplete and can only offer a glimpse into its vast diversity. Beyond the spectacular large-scale works, there is much more to discover.

This ranges from hand-sized tile mosaics to small representational figurines that can be found scattered throughout the city, for example on street signs.

The best advice, therefore, remains to walk through the city with open eyes and to be surprised by the many artistic interventions in the cityscape.