Aside from being Norway’s energy industry hub, Stavanger is also renowned for its picturesque white, wooden houses. These charming structures, numbering in the thousands, are scattered throughout the city, with a particularly high concentration in the historic district of Gamle Stavanger.
The city’s pristine white facades create a timeless, quaint atmosphere. Yet, amidst this traditional setting, a vibrant street art scene has emerged, infusing Stavanger with a burst of color and creativity. This striking contrast between the classic wooden houses and the bold expressions of street art adds a distinctive character to the city.
How Stavanger’s Street Art Scene Began
Driven largely by the Nuart festival, Stavanger’s street art scene is vast and varied. The city’s street art ranges from vast eye-catching murals to more subtle work designed to blend in or interact with the physical environment.
Fine Art graduate Martyn Reed moved from London to Stavanger in 1995, and that’s where the story starts.
“I was part of a loose art collective whose practice explored concepts of power, who had it, how did they use it and who did they share it with. I was naturally drawn to working in public space although the concept of street art hadn’t yet taken hold,” says Reed.
But it wasn’t until six years later when Reed discovered the work of Banksy at an event that things began to develop. He was surprised at the lasting impact the meeting had on him: “I thought if this work could do this to me, it could do it to anyone. I returned to Stavanger and established Nuart the same year.”
Reed eventually assumed responsibility for curating Nuart, and notes that once the festival shifted its focus exclusively to street art, the impact on the city was immediate.
“Unlike some major metropolises, there was no negative connotations attached to the culture because it was so different stylistically to tagging and graffiti. The city took to it immediately and we were able to curate the city in a very free and thoughtful way,” says Reed.
Nuart blossomed, unimpeded by bureaucracy or politics, and enjoyed its “golden years” from 2006 to 2016. Stavanger hosted most of the world’s leading names in street art, including Dotdotdot, Dolk, and Martin Whatson, with many of those works still visible in the city today.
A Commercial Break
However, the surging popularity of the more commercial aspects of the culture took hold on the scene. Together with the pandemic, it impacted Nuart’s ability to produce a festival, so the team put their initiative on hold.
Nuart did continue to exist in the form of the Nuart Journal, a peer-reviewed journal with an immediate, open-access policy.
Nuart Returns To Stavanger
This year, Reed has announced plans to resurrect Nuart. He says the new body of work aims to “challenge the ‘Disneyfication’ of the culture in a thoughtful and entertaining way.”
A “back to basics” series of works, residencies and projects are set to be produced between September and December. The first glimpses are already visible on the streets, but you’ll need to look down to see them.
Rats, cats, and crows are among the street-level artworks to pop up so far. According to Reed, the crow signifies transformation and rebirth, something street art culture “desperately needs after a decade of ‘by the book’ mural festivals sponsored by corporate property developers.”
At the time of writing, Nuart Festival’s Instagram account is the best place to see the unveiling of this new series, piece by piece.
It states: “although we’ll continue to applaud the technical and artistic skills of large scale murals and their place in the culture, we’re happy to be putting the cherry pickers away and bringing it back down to street level, to the grime and the dirt that created this pearl of a culture in the first place.”
Stavanger’s Top Street Art Locations
Local street artist ‘Algebra’ shared her recommended spots with Visit Norway, but explained that this will change over time: “The pieces are usually not meant to last forever. They’re supposed to be covered up with new ones over time. The general rule is, the cooler the art, the longer it stays.”
Just wandering around Stavanger is the best way to experience the street art. Reed says doing this is how you’ve discover multiple smaller works that tours often miss.
That being said, he also recommends the tours offered by Region Stavanger and Guide Companiet, which offer an “excellent introduction” to the street art scene for people short on time.
Don’t Miss Norway’s Most Colorful Street
In stark contrast to the white buildings that define much of central Stavanger, Øvre Holmegate—known locally as Fargegaten (the Color Street)—bursts with color.
In 2005, the street was just like any other until a local hair stylist wanted a more vibrant environment to attract more people to his salon—and other businesses on the street.
The street’s design seems haphazard at first glance, but the color combinations are actually the design of Scottish artist Craig Flannagan.
Join locals for a coffee early in the afternoon in one of the many sidewalk cafes, or visit later for a livelier atmosphere.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.