Slovakia: Bratislava, Urban Art

“Street art Corp. EGO / VANITY” from Bratislava’s street art festival

Bratislava has numerous impressive pieces of public art. In 2017, Bratislava was ranked as the third richest region of the European Union by GDP (on Purchasing Power Parity or PPP) per capita after only Hamburg and Luxembourg City. It is not a poor city, and the street art reflects the Bratislava’s relative affluence. Unlike poorer places, Marseille for example, most of the art on the streets we noticed was clearly planned and considered. Many of the pieces we spotted were grand in scale and required permission and advance logistical planning. The art in central Bratislava is less spontaneous and subversive than what can see in less affluent and less controlled areas of the world. It’s not graffiti art produced surreptitiously in the middle of the night. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but it is a distinctive difference.

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These pictures of the urban art of Bratislava were captured in October of 2018.  Bratislava hosts a yearly street art festival and many of the works we saw were created for these events.

One of our favorites: Fin DAC’s Veľké Oči featuring model/muse Linda Gunisova in Bratislava for Bratislava Street Art Festival

Čumil the Sewer Worker may well be Bratislava’s most photographed artwork.

Caution: Čumil at work

Millo, “Learn to fly”

Is it art?

Becky gets Schöner Náci’s hopes up: The story goes that Náci was in love with a woman who sadly did not love him back. This disappointed him so much that he went mad. He was often seen in the streets giving flowers to random women he met.

“EGO / VANITY” closer up

Becky makes friends around the world.