Five ways Brussels is celebrating street art and urban culture

Brussels has taken a while to embrace street art - whether it be the city's art institutions or the government. But recently various efforts have snowballed and the past two weeks have seen the simultaneous flowering of various projects. One impetus has been the development of Mixity as the 2017 Brussels tourist theme, a highlighting of Brussels' cosmopolitan nature with its 183 different resident nationalities. Here's a round up of some current projects.

Mixity Wall

Until the end of June, murals celebrating diversity are visible on eight walls in eight different boroughs. The non-profit organisation Urbana Project put the creativity of Belgian and international artists to work on behalf of the Brussels region in order to brighten up the walls of several neighbourhoods: Sablon, Morichar, Bailli, Josaphat, Place Saint-Lazare, Birmingham and Université. Among the themes on display: "City of exchanges", "World city", "European capital", "Polyglot" and "Intergenerational".

OAKOAK Tour

For three years, Brussels city alderwoman for culture Karine Lalieux has been promoting street art, both temporary and permanent, as a way to bring art to a public which may not be frequenting museums and other traditional art venues. Recently she invited French artist OAKOAK (pronounced wokwok) to Brussels and gave him carte blanche to spend a week in the old port neighbourhood and create pieces.

"My aim is to play with already existing street elements such as a bench or a crack in a wall and to give a new meaning to that element," he told The Bulletin. "Each city has its own urban identity which allows me to be inspired by new things in each city I work in. I was able to do 11 pieces in six days because of the richness of urban elements, plus it's been beautiful weather so I had ideal painting conditions."

If you've ever wondered if the stripes on a zebra crossing are lonely living their parallel lives OAKOAK has an answer for you. He also gives new (often humorous) meanings to manhole covers, public toilets, pavement repairs, building steps and hose attachments, forcing you to pay attention to details. Maps of the tour are available free at La Central(e) and also on line at www.centrale.brussels

Lucy McKenzie Mural

Scottish artist Lucy McKenzie, an 11-year Brussels resident, worked with the Farm Prod collective to create a street mural on Rue des Chartreux in downtown Brussels that bridges the gap between art murals and comic book murals. The mural was dedicated a few days ago. "I'm not a comic book artist, I'm a fan," she says. "I wanted to represent buildings that are close to my home; I live in the neighbourhood and how often do you get to make a piece of work for the place where you live?"

According to alderwoman Ans Persoons, whose duties include the comic book murals throughout the city, up until now, the only way the city could clean the murals that got tagged was to remove everything and then repaint - a costly and laborious process. But not anymore: "A new technique using organic wax has been developed," she says. "The artwork is covered in the wax and when this gets tagged, you just remove the wax, the tags go with it, and then you reapply a coat of wax."

Urban Culture Guide

Visit Brussels asked Urbana - a non-profit that promotes urban contemporary arts in street art, architecture, urban planning, fashion and design - to put together an urban culture guide for locals and tourists alike. The guide features street artists but also covers such concepts as yarn bombing (knitting as a form of graffiti), guided tours, gallery shows, tattoo parlours, vinyl records, skate and roller parks, shops and events, streetwear shops, nightlife and street art associations.

Wallonia-Brussels Federation minister for promotion Rachid Madrane is a big supporter: "We have an extraordinary breeding ground for talent here in Brussels with local talent and artists coming from all over the world to create here. They are the best ambassadors for our city and we support them wholeheartedly."

"Street art is a living art in constant evolution," says Urbana's Adrien Lobet. "Pieces highlighted in the guide may no longer be there when you get there. Conversely, you may come across something fabulous that isn't in the guide. But don't worry, there will be new editions to keep up to date."

STROKAR

STROKAR, the brain child of MAD Brussels director Alexandra Lambert and French photographer and filmmaker Fred Atax (a Brussels resident since 1988) is happening with a bang. As well as a show "Living in the Positive" in the Vandenborght Space until 27 May, there is a customisation of the interior public spaces of the Jam Hotel by various celebrated Belgian and international street artists, the opening of a gallery AllRighT on 1 June, with the first show being New York street art pioneer COPE2, three murals in the city and an artist parcours in the Dansaert neighbourhood.

The show at the Vandenborght features artists from Cap Verde and the work on display is photos taken by Atax in over 120 countries that he makes available to artists who then rework the photos, with a startling and deep effect.

"I came across a demonstration in Lome where artists were burning their work in public," Atax says. "There is basically no government support for the arts and with the price of supplies and the need to feed oneself first, being an artist is a luxury there. I thought maybe I can do something to help. I have invited famous artists from all over the world and at the same time I can help unknown artists. We will be taking a group of artists to Kinshasa to collaborate with local artists for a show that will be shown here."