Exploring Street Art in Valencia

Street art in Valencia, Spain. A small guide.

Finding street art in Valencia

If you enjoy street art, you’ll love exploring Valencia.

The abundance of street art in Valencia can be largely accredited to artists like Escif and Hyuro, both living and using the city as their urban canvas.

But like many great projects, this is very much a collaborative effort, with a team of artists flocking to Valencia from around the world to showcase their work in the form of stencils, spray paint, and stickers.

Murals in all shapes, sizes, and styles can be found in high concentration in El Carmen, an area of the city that’s north east of the Old Town and home to some great bars and restaurants.

The idea of community engagement is what I love most about street art. It is not only visually engaging, but socially inclusive if you stop to wonder what the artist might be saying. Some have the power to transform otherwise tired and dilapidated buildings, and at best, street art serves to say something about the times we’re living in.

The transformative nature of street as can also be seen in cities like Berlin, Lodz and Reykjavik to name a few.

Here are some of the ones I liked the most:

Blu

BLU street art in Valencia

Street art in Valencia by BLU

It’s likely that you already know the work of BLU, a world-renowned Italian artist who has painted murals in most of the world’s most biggest cities. I’d say he’s my favourite street artist, after discovering his work during a trip to Berlin in 2010. As soon as I stumbled across this piece it appeared so obviously BLUian that it was no surprise to see this confirmed though a quick Google search.

His style and signature use of gold is difficult to mistake for anyone else.

This depiction of Moses, sitting side by side with a mural of tumbling cars by street artist Escif, has become one of the most photographed walls in Valencia. Fancy that!

To see more street art by BLU read: The Tiles Buildings and Street Art of Lisbon

Escif

street-art-valencia-escif

Escif is a local boy who treats the walls of Valencia rather like his own open art gallery. His simple style makes his work stand out, and it’s this simplicity for me that makes his work oscillate between humorous and unsettling.

This particular piece is appears to be questioning society’s use of phones, apps and the internet. We might be more connected than ever virtually, but are we anymore connected in reality? His messages usually have a political slant of a dystopian nature.

Hyuro

Street art in Valencia by Hyuro

Originally from Argentina, Hyuro has been putting her stamp on Valencia since she moved to the city in 2005. Her work often evokes an unsettling dream-like quality whilst depicting women’s issues. This except from an interview she did reveals her intentions more in-depth:

This year, following the controversy that was generated with an intervention I did for the ̈ International Day of Working Women ̈ representing the housewife in 24 different images, images taken of myself and my own housework, I was surprised with the reading and the reaction of so many women. I became aware that if we still feel offended against such images of housework it is because there is still an unresolved conflict.

You can read the full interview here.

Erica Il Cane

Street art in Valencia by Hyuro

Erica il Cane street art in valencia

Street art in Valencia by Erica il Cane

Erica il Cane is an Italian street artist. She lives and works in Bologna but has painted walls all around the world. Especially known for creating massive murals with mostly animals, and often in collaboration with other artists.

Along with Hyuro, she is probably one of the most internationally well-known female street artists.

Street art guide of Valencia

The one of the rabbit and the cat are painted on opposites sides of the same building on a street called Carre de Baix. It is located in an area with a high density of street art in Valencia (barrio del Carmen) so it’s well worth heading that way.

Comic characters by David de Limón

Street art in Valencia by David de Limon

Valencia’s based street artist, David de Limón, is well-known for his comic characters.

They are ubiquitous in Valencia. Whilst these characters didn’t initially  appeal to my tastes, there’s something quite cute about them too.

Street art in Valencia by David de Lemon

Sneaking their way into corners and doors you’ll never quite feel like you’re walking alone. Every single one of these fellas carries a heart-shaped symbol across their chest, which is a needed distraction from their burglar-like appearance!

A few more pieces of street art to look out for

Street art guide to Valencia, Spain

Colourful wall mural in Valencia.

Accommodation in Valencia

There’s a wide variety of accommodation to choose from in Valencia depending on on your taste, preferences and budget. If your priority is location, you can’t beat Only YOU Hotel Valencia which is located just steps away from the main square. You’ll have an endless supply on restaurants and attractions all within walking distance.

If you’d prefer to be out of the city centre and closer to Botanical Gardens and the City of Art and Sciences, Hotel Malcom and Barrett has a very good reputation with famously comfortable beds! It also offers good value for money.

If you’re looking to fully indulge, Vincci Mercat is situated just steps away from the Central Market in the historical old town, and comes complete with a rooftop swimming pool and terrace.

Are you planning a street art tour of Valencia?

the culture map blog

Hi, I'm Shing

Welcome to The Culture Map, a place where I share my travel guides, adventurous tales, and capture the inspiring diversity of our world.

6 Responses

  1. My wife and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary in Valencia and were both surprised by the amount of street art too. I remember seeing most of the ones shown in your blog but did not know who they were by. I think you’re right about Blu, I’m sure I have come across his work in London and Lisbon coming to think of it! We’re talking about going back again for more wine and paella!

  2. I don’t remember seeing any of this when I was in Valencia in 2005. But I loved the arty bars in Carmen – one had a zoo in the gents and one was a Flintstones theme bar with paper mache models of Wilma, Barney and some dinosaurs.

    1. I’m really sad you’re no longer with us Richard. You were one of the first travel blogs I started reading and you will remain one of my favourites x

Any questions? We'll try and answer them below.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Discover more unique places from around the world

© 2024 The Culture Map · Privacy Policy