Prague to boast one of Europe's longest street art murals
A huge concrete wall in Prague's Ruzyně district is being transformed into one of Europe's longest collaborative murals. Thirty artists from Czechia and abroad are taking part in the project, which will become a permanent open-air gallery. RF went to see the artists at work.
The 700-metre wall surrounds Ministry of Defence property along Vlastina Street in Prague's Ruzyně district. Until recently it was just a long stretch of grey concrete topped with barbed wire. Now, sections of the wall are gradually filling with colour as artists work their way along it.
The project, called Mural Ruzyně, is part of the biennial Urban Pictus festival, organised by The Chemistry Gallery in cooperation with the Prague 6 municipal district. Thirty artists from the Czech Republic and abroad were invited to create individual sections around the project's shared theme, The Beauty of the City in Motion.
French artist Smoka interpreted it through the people who make a city come alive.
"My work is more focused on people than on the city itself. I wanted to create something about the people who live in the city rather than the buildings or the streets.
"The movement is represented by a couple dancing in the city lights. For me, it's human movement rather than vehicles or architecture, because I like to create emotion when people look at my murals. That's why my work is centred on people, and here that movement is expressed through dancing."
The artists have spent the past days working through a scorching heatwave, with daytime temperatures well above 30 degrees Celsius. Some sections are already almost complete, while others are still only sketched out. Smoka admits the heat has made painting physically demanding.
"It's a bit exhausting in the afternoon, so we have to take breaks. But it's better than rain, because if it rains, we can't paint. And actually, it's less hot here than it is in France at the moment. So for me it's okay."
The large-scale mural was initiated by the Prague 6 municipal district, but because the wall belongs to the Ministry of Defence, organisers first had to secure approval not only from the ministry itself, but also from the Military History Institute and Prague Airport.
Putting together the team of artists was another challenge. According to festival co-organiser Petr Kopal, the Czech street art scene is relatively small, making it easier to identify the country's leading names, while many of the international participants had either approached the festival over the years or were discovered at mural festivals abroad. The organisers also had to decide how to approach such a long wall from a curatorial point of view.
"Our first idea was for the mural to gradually move from abstract art to hyperrealism. We selected a few artists with that concept in mind, but then we realised it would be too complicated. We felt the audience might not understand the idea behind it.
"So we decided to focus on realistic, figurative and hyperrealistic painting instead. That approach is much more readable for the public—both for the people who live here and for visitors who come to see the mural."
Among the international artists taking part is Belfast-born Emik, who approached the project's shared theme from a rather different perspective.
"For me, movement can also be something slow. I'm interested in the passage of time, which is almost the opposite of the fast pace of city life, with cars, public transport and people constantly rushing around.
"What I want this mural to evoke is the feeling of slowing down, taking your time and reconnecting with nature."
The Czech line-up includes some of the country's best-known street artists, among them Michal Škapa, Toy Box and Chemis, whose work incorporates the wall itself into the composition.
"I like to work with the architecture and the structure of the walls, and that's exactly what I'm doing here.
"At the moment it may look like destruction. Graffiti is often seen as something destructive, but I think creation can also emerge from destruction, and that's what this wall represents.
"Right now it's still missing the main character. Once I add that, the whole piece will start to make sense."
Once complete, it will rank as Europe's third-longest collaborative mural. It will also be treated with a special anti-graffiti coating to make it easier to remove any vandalism. Organisers say the project has already been receiving an overwhelmingly positive response from local residents.
"We've been getting feedback every day, and I'd say 99 per cent of it has been positive. People are really happy that something like this is happening here. Before, this was just a grey concrete wall. We hope local residents will feel proud to have this mural in their neighbourhood."
The Chemistry Gallery also plans to organise guided walks along the wall's entire length once the mural is completed at the end of June. But perhaps the easiest way to experience the artwork is simply to hop on a tram and watch it unfold through the window.
