Murals from around the world
We are not sure what to think of this. A giant wall painting on a cliff face. It should symbolize the theory of evolution and took four years to complete in 1961, but has since been repainted. It's more odd than anything. Have a look and make up your own mind.
The urban landscape in Copenhagen is filled with art and cool design. It is an old tradition that ending of buildings have been used for painted advertising or murals done by famous and less-famous artists. As old buildings get replaced by new bright architecture with lots of windows, the big murals are slowly disappearing, but there are still quite a few left. So go hunting for wall painting in the streets of Copenhagen.
Outside the historical centre, Gdansk has no shortage of dull concrete apartment blocks, but in the district of Zaspa they have done something about it. Each end of the blocks have been decorated in vibrant street art by both local and international artists. The first mural was made in 1997 to commemorate the 1000 years anniversary for Gdansk and shows Lech Wałęsa and the Pope John Paul 2nd. Since then, more than 50 murals have been added. Take your take time to explore the neighbourhood and see how many you can find.
Belfast makes up for its lack of major sights in form of character and rich recent history. It is infamous for the unrest in the 1970's and 1980's when terrorizing factions of loyalist Protestants and republican Catholics turned Belfast into a war zone. To separate the two parties, West Belfast was then split like another Berlin with a peace line formed by tall fences and barbwire, which still stands today. Political and memorial murals have sprung up in neighbourhoods on both side of the peace line. The republican murals tend to be more political, while the loyalists' can be quite militaristic. Though a mural-tour is a fascinating history lesson, there is more to Belfast than post-war sightseeing. It has its fair share of gorgeous buildings like city hall and Queens University - and then you can't go to Belfast without being reminded of the fact that the Titanic was built here. We know, civil war and a sunken boat might not sound very impressive, but Belfast has edge and attitude.
Wynwood, right north of downtown Miami, used to be an industrial area with warehouses and auto repair shops, but within the last few years it has been coloured up with murals. Not just random graffiti, but topnotch unique art pieces by local artists. They are so good, that they don't leave not much reason to visit the many real galleries that also have invaded Wynwood. When you first enter the area, you get excited by the sight of the first couple of murals, but as you venture deeper into Wynwood, they are popping up everywhere, until the point where they are pretty much on every wall. This is street at its finest.