Before we talk about Street Art in Lviv, it's important to define what this term means. Street art is a visual art that is characterized by a strongly urban style. Today, the concept of street art has become very broad, encompassing practically any genre in an urban style: wall paintings, images on various objects, mosaics, stencils, street installations, murals, stickers, non-commercial posters, and more. Accordingly, in the urban landscape of the city, the canvases for street art are the walls of buildings, fences, or other prominent places and objects.
Often, the artist's goal is to draw attention to important and relevant issues, imbuing their images with a particular symbolism and idea. This form of art has undergone a certain evolution: from illegal wall painting to the ability to use them legally for creativity. Therefore, there are different types of street art, each with its own peculiarities and rules.
Lviv is a city with a high potential for the development of street art.
Over the past years, thanks to artists who, with the support of the community and local authorities, have implemented their creative projects, Lviv has seen many interesting art objects. They can be found in almost every district of the city, so while walking the streets of Lviv, you can come across original art objects that fit perfectly into the urban landscape.
For example, in 2013, thanks to the "Revitalization of Pidzamche" project, many paintings were created in the district of the same name, and thus Pidzamche became practically the "center" of street art in Lviv. It was a joint project of street artists and the Lviv Institute of the City and the Institute of City Development in Krakow. We invite you to take a look at some interesting works that were created as part of this project:
"First mural" - 4 Pidzamche St.
This was the first joint project between the city and street artists, which became the beginning of their further collaboration. In this project, each artist worked in their own style, creating their part of the overall composition. Authors: Arm, Rust, White, Tonek, Nais, Pedro, Feros, Dilk, Keno, Viska.
"Freedom" - 39 Zavodska St.
The artwork depicts a person, a beautiful bird, and abstract forms. The artists had the idea to create a composition that symbolizes a person's desire to be free in their thoughts, hence the name "Freedom." By the way, this project by the artists won a competition announced by the City Institute as part of the project. Authors: Taras Arm, Volodymyr Keno, Vitaliy Dilk, Sergiy Feros, and Dmytro Tabu.
"Birds", 26 Ya. Ostryanytsi St.
Artists Dilk, Mate, Keno, White, Arm, Tabu, Brat, Viska depicted birds in their own technique, adhering to the same color palette.
Also in Lviv, the "Lviv WallKing" mural festival was launched. The goal is to transform the urban space and popularize street art. In the list, we want to draw your attention to the following art objects that were created in 2017 within the festival:
More about: Lviv galleries
"Spectrum", 1 Chornomorska St.
The author of the painting, Andriy Savchyshyn, depicted a toy spring that was once very popular but later forgotten. Hands - a fragment of a famous, classical fresco are also depicted here. The theme of this mural intersects with the cyclicity of life.
"Contemplation", 4 Syanska St.
The mural is executed in the author's (Taras Dovhalyuk) characteristic technique - he used the image of a bird to be more understandable to the viewer. The idea of the painting is coexistence in one space, the importance of noticing each other in such conditions and finding a compromise.
"Focus Point", 9 Syanska St.
On this mural, you see a character's face hidden under different planes - an analogy to visual noise, which is very easy to succumb to. Author Dilk raises the issue of self-identification and the ability to find oneself in a crazy stream of unnecessary information.
"Interaction", 4 Kn. M. Udatnoho St.
Author Feros draws parallels between large and small, emphasizes the relationship between objects, and their influence on each other. In this painting - a person is a part of the city, the city is a part of the country, and the country is a part of the world. The idea of the insignificant impact of a person, which can have large and unpredictable effects anywhere else and at another time, is traced.
"Children's Games", 4 Haydamatska Street.
The wall of the building "looks" onto a children's playground, so it is quite symbolic that the artist Keno decided to create a painting about children's toys that lose their relevance in modern times.
"Social Gravity", 49a Zhovkivska Street.
The author is Sergii Radkevych. The images in the painting are associated with sports competitions and gravity. The idea is to combine sports competitions and gravity, to draw attention to the conditions of the game in society and their adherence. That is when a person defines a certain role for themselves in society and must follow the rules of the game, but sometimes it is necessary to change and go beyond oneself.
We also add a list of no less interesting and original works of street art:
"Idea", Muliars'ka St, 3.
This diptych was created in 2015 as part of the urban cultural festival "City Workshop-2015." At first glance, it may seem like just a depiction of geometric shapes and bright colors. In reality, this drawing represents an "Idea" that naturally starts with something. Specifically, the artists depicted this beginning as a point from which lines, planes, shapes, textures, and other images spread - a kind of symbol of unlimited potential that any idea can develop into.
"Cat on the Wall", Donetsk St, 22.
The drawing was created as part of the urban cultural festival "City Workshop-2016" and was called "Street Art for Children." The author of the drawing, Andriy Prisyazhnyuk, traditionally depicted a stylish cat.
"Train", Yaroslavenka St.
A 56-meter-long and 6-meter-high mural, created using 53 buckets of paint, is located on Yaroslavenka St. The authors of the mural were students from the design department of the National Forestry University of Ukraine. The mural depicts a train with several cars, trees, and the university's initials.
"Portrait of Taras Shevchenko", Mykolaychuka St, 1.
The artist is Volodymyr Stetskovich. The portrait is located on the wall of a five-story building. The execution method resembles embroidery - to achieve this effect, the artists specifically chose a building where the bricks are laid in an unusual way.
"Crossword", 82 Academik Sakharov St. Author: Sergiy Petlyuk.
The image is 30 meters high and 18 meters wide. It contains encrypted names of prominent figures in architecture and painting. In the past, the answers could only be seen after sunset, as they were written with a special paint that glows in the dark. However, today, the words are visible at any time of day.
In modern street art, murals (from Latin "mūrālis" - "wall") occupy an important place - monumental images on the facades of buildings, a contemporary form of mural painting. They are created with special paints and the images look very realistic, sometimes resembling a photograph transferred onto a wall. Murals are often used to convey deep ideas, draw attention to important issues, and are dedicated to famous personalities or events. They are a kind of tool for honoring national memory.
- In the center of Lviv, on 14 Horodotska Street, on the wall of a building, you can see a mural depicting the portrait of a little Ukrainian girl. The artwork is done in yellow and blue colors. Below the portrait, there is a quote from the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The author of the mural is a street artist Christiana Guemey from Paris. He also created a mural in the center of Lviv on Drukaraska Street based on a photograph depicting a Ukrainian border guard saying goodbye to his beloved.
- On the wall of Secondary School No. 65 (35 Roksolana Street), there is a mural in the form of a Ukrainian girl. The project was worked on by mural artist Andrii Buniak, and the sketch was created by Lviv schoolchildren as part of the initiative "Community friendly to children and youth."
- In 2020, on the occasion of Doctors' Day, a mural was unveiled on the facade of the Emergency Hospital in Lviv, which was painted as a tribute to medical professionals. It depicts a doctor in a protective mask being drawn by a boy who writes "Thank you" for her. Against the background of the doctor's coat, there is a silhouette of Lviv, and on the other wall, a girl releases a yellow and blue kite. The murals are connected by a life electrocardiogram. The height of the mural is 21 m.
Geniuses from Microdistricts
With the support of Lviv City Council, a new project "Geniuses from Microdistricts: Six Districts, Six Murals, Six Personalities" was launched in 2020. Its aim is to popularize famous figures and significant historical events in the city, and improve the visual perception of residential buildings and architectural environment.
On the wall of the building (at 2 S. Petliura Street), you can see a mural dedicated to Boris Hryhorovych Voznytskyi - a Ukrainian art historian, who is considered the patriarch of museum affairs. This was the first of the murals that appeared as part of the new project. The opening of the mural was symbolically held on International Museum Day.
As part of this project, a symbolic mural was also opened on the occasion of the 155th anniversary of the birth of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. He is depicted here bilaterally: on one side as a young count and patron, and on the other - as an artistic and public figure. The mural is located in the Lviv-Sykhiv district, at 64 Chervonoji Kalyny Avenue.
On the wall of the building at 9 Doroshenka Street, there is a mural dedicated to the world-renowned Ukrainian opera singer, soloist of the Paris National Opera, volunteer and volunteer soldier - Vasyl Slipak. The mural depicts Vasyl Slipak as a warrior and hero, as well as an artistic personality. In 2015, he left the stage and voluntarily went to defend Ukraine. In 2016, he was killed by a sniper bullet.
Many murals on patriotic themes can be seen on Benedyktovych Street, near the L. Ukrainka Theater, as well as on Vitovskoho Street - not far from the Park of Culture. From time to time, they may change, as street artists create new images.
Поезія на стінах
Walking through the streets of Lviv, you can notice poems on the walls - poetry by famous Ukrainian classics and contemporary poets. They have already become a kind of visiting card of the city of Lviv. This is a special project of a public organization that involves searching and coordinating the location where it is allowed to create such art objects.
Lviv - a city whose walls have long become a unique canvas for impressive and original street art creations. They not only enhance the appearance of buildings and various objects, but often carry artistic and educational value as well. Sometimes it's just a beautiful picture on a wall that serves as a photo zone, and sometimes it's a quote from your favorite poet.
