On Sunday, Joe and I ventured over to the Storhaug East neighbourhood to check out Nuart, an annual international street art festival held in the area. Nuart started back in 2006 and has featured over 80 different artists from 20 different countries in its short existence and it's said to be one of the premier street art festivals in the world.
The event is hosted by Tou Scene, an old brewery turned Art factory in Stavanger's edgiest neighbourhood (which is also undergoing a massive revitalization project.) The warehouse is massive and it loomed over us as we followed the signs guiding us to the beginning of the exhibition. A handful of raw rooms featured different artists who had come to Stavanger specifically for this festival. (If you're into Street Artists, this year features Martha Cooper, Aiko, Dal East, Dot Dot Dot, David Choe, Faith47 among others.)
Each room housed different works with completely different moods and the segregation allowed for an element of surprise as we rounded the corner. My first time visiting the exhibit, I had no idea what to expect but I was blown away. Joe and I continually bantered back and forth with, "Oh Wow," and "This is so cool!" While it's impossible to pick a favourite, I was particularly intrigued by Lithuanian artist Ernst Zacharevic who paired his painting with actual 3-dimensional objects.
It wouldn't be a Street Art festival without actual Art on the streets. The majority of the pieces can be found trailing from Tou Scene all the way to Stavanger Sentrum. The festival organisers have created a map available at the warehouse to guide you. Sunday happened to be a very windy day so I picked up the map and am anxious for the perfect conditions to head back to explore the rest. Apparently, an artist also took over the control tower at our international airport which I'll be looking for when we depart on our next trip.
For someone who really knows nothing about Street Art (but regularly appreciates it on my travels,) I found Nuart to be an eye opening experience. It's fascinating to be surrounded by such talent and it left me yearning to spend a little more time learning about it.
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Nuart runs from September 7 through October 20.
The exhibit at Tou Scene is open Tuesday-Friday from 12:00-17:00 & Saturday-Sunday 11:00-16:00
Admission is Free
Check out the program for different events.
The Promo Video is below...
NUART 2013 PROMO from NUART on Vimeo.
You know how much I love streetart! This festival looks fantastic and the pieces you have picked are amazing! Would love to explore!!
ReplyDeleteKristina x
Thanks for sharing - that looks fantastic! Great picture of exploring art:-)
ReplyDeleteWow, the art really is amazing! I love the one with half a car!
ReplyDeleteThis is so so neat... definitely my kind of art. Love the boy with the tire... amazing!
ReplyDeleteI am not a big art person but I do love street art because it is usually so unique
ReplyDeleteOh cool! Sad I never made it to Tou Scene
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try and keep Tou Scene on my radar in hopes of checking out their other exhibits throughout the year.
DeleteHow cool is this! Well done Stavanger. We have a tiny street art festival in Malta but it's not very edgy or, to be frank, good.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to learn more about street art, I highly recommend watching Exit Through the Gift Shop (documentary) if you haven't already!
I will definitely look into the film - thanks for the rec, Jess!
ReplyDeleteThis looks great, I went to a one off street art event kinda like this. Too bad they didn't keep it going but I guess the daily goings on of East London are sorta like a ongoing festival of art.
ReplyDelete