There's always been that special something which has drawn people to Warsaw. For most, it's the draw of the city's long history spanning a thousand years; for others, it's the lure of a city mixed with modernity and an optimistic eye on the future. Whatever the reason, Warsaw is a city which has been long on the rise and it's plain to see for all who visit. Fast-paced change has been the goal of the city authorities in the last few decades, but in a broader historical context, this is something which has been ongoing since the post-war years. The change is evident, with new buildings everywhere, and there's a lot to see and do, however, the city has also some fantastic cool credentials - not through pomp and throwing money around, but earned through 'roll up your sleeves' cutting edge art...
Oh? Oh, yes! In this very guide, we've praised the virtues of the host of modernised
sightseeing
venues which are readily available, and the revitalised
leisure
spots such as the
Vistulan Boulevards
and artsy locations like
The museum on the Vistula
, but there's an altogether different aspect to the city's cool credentials, which can often be overlooked, but in equal measure brings people to this city, the aim to explore, to stare up at buildings – we are, of course, referring to the city's big collection of street murals! Huh? Yup, the city is littered with them. Indeed, Poland has long embraced the fact that large scale artwork and design motifs can be a fascinating and creative option for advertising or, more recently, as an outlet for the artistic visions of local and international street artists. During the communist era huge advertisements were often painted onto the gable ends of buildings and factories. With the current fashion for all things retro and the undeniable coolness of Polish design from the 1960s-80s those murals which have survived till today are seen as a window into life in the Poland of old. A fine example, advertising the Toto lottery, can be seen on a vast wall along
ul. Widok
in the city centre; its current shabby state only adds to its sense of history and charm.
With Communism in Poland long consigned to the dustbin of history, who do we have to thank for the street art and mural trend of the last decade? This is a joint accolade between Warsaw and Poland's street artists, and the organisation
Fundacja Do Dzieła
(Let's Do It!), organisers of Warsaw's
Street Art Doping Festival
.
Created in 2009, Fundacja Do Dzieła took its tentative first steps, which immediately led to Warsaw's very first street art festival in the same year. In such a short time, a whole host of international artists from Italy's
BLU
,
Loesje
of the Netherlands, Belgium's
ROA
, China's
DALeast
, to national artists such as
Raspazjan
,
Mona Tusz
, and of course,
Varsovians
NeSpoon, SC Szyman
and
Simpson
have all added their creativity on many of Warsaw's buildings, walls and pillar boxes, rivalling what other cities like Berlin have to offer. As fun as street art is, what have the artists, and Fundacja Do Dzieła accomplished? First off, you simply need to visit all the street art sights to see the full extent of the work – the answer is plainly painted on the walls! For as much as the city has regenerated itself through infrastructure projects, and fresh licks of paint here and there, it's the other type of paint, often the one from cans, which can be overlooked. The cultural diversity displayed on the streets of Warsaw is vast and shows how a city can change its fortunes in such a short time to become one of positive change. Plus, a lot of these pieces are simply nice to look at - they're pleasing.
While Fundacja Do Dzieła has been a celebrated success, in other cities, such as Berlin, there is an ongoing debate about whether street art has been appropriated by authorities, another form of gentrification that counters the original intentions of the artists and purposes of the murals. Warsaw has employed the talents of street artists to create public art in the service of the re-invigoration of the city, and nowhere is this more evident than in the
Praga District
. Although it can be argued gentrification is sinking its claws into the area, there is an element of success with street art, as two important factors act as a drive – to respect the work of the artist while adding value to a neighbourhood and the community of people that live there. And, of course, the work being available for all to see for free. Stick to these principles and the beast of gentrification may be kept at bay... although having a big stick may also help!
In addition to cataloguing and GPSing street art addresses throughout the city in our online street art section, we’ve also marked each location with a spray can symbol on the maps in the back of our guide, so you can literally use them to give yourself a tour of Warsaw's urban art. As for online, we've even listed all pieces of street art, old and new, to keep you informed if they still exist or not, to save you time from visiting a site, only to discover that once fantastic mural has been painted over, or worse, the building it was on is gone (if you find that piece has been painted over since we've last been, please, do let us know)!
Although street art can be found throughout the city, if you're limited on time, your best bet is to head on over to the city's
Praga district
(p.50) on the east side of the river. Examples of some fantastic murals can be seen at
ul. Racławicka 17
,
ul. Rakowiecka 2C
and
ul. Bliska 23
(in Praga Południe) respectively, also, if you stick to the length of
