The 7th edition of the RUA Mural Festival arrives in Estonia’s Elva Municipality, changing the visual landscape of Elva and five surrounding villages: Rõngu, Annikoru, Valguta, Puhja, and Aakre. Running from May 27th to June 1st, this annual event brings together a diverse group of artists from various corners of the world to create murals that play to the tastes and everyday surroundings of the local communities.
This year’s festival features an impressive lineup of muralists, including Lily Brick from Spain, Pablito Zago from France, Ola Kalnins from Sweden, Viktoria Berezina from Ukraine, and several local artists such as Greete Okas and Robin Nõgisto from Estonia, as well as Karolis Desutaje and Tadas Vincaitis from Lithuania. These artists, each known for their distinct styles and illustrative techniques, reflect a broad spectrum of artistic perspectives and cultural backgrounds.
Organized by the Elva Municipality in collaboration with the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, the Embassy of Spain, and the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Estonia, the RUA Mural Festival is not only about improving urban spaces. It emphasizes community engagement, with activities including a youth camp for local Estonians and Ukrainians, and a community wall painting workshop. These initiatives aim to foster a deeper connection between the artists and the residents, ensuring that the murals resonate with and reflect the local culture and environment.
In its commitment to accessibility and inclusivity, the festival has also incorporated art into social facilities over the years, including schools, orphanages, and care centers. This year’s program continues this tradition, ensuring that art’s transformative power reaches all community members. The RUA Mural Festival thus stands out for its artistic excellence and dedication to making art an integral part of everyday life in Estonia’s small towns.
In the quiet embrace of rural Estonia, street artists find a harmonious refuge. With the century’s turbulent past, its break with Moscow in the 90s and its joining with NATO and the EU in the 2000s, Estonia today enjoys political stability, economic growth, a thriving tech sector, and a progressive social welfare that enhances the
Finland joined the mural festival fray with some astounding and complex murals for UPEA this autumn. Created simultaneously in different cities, the festival soars with a large scale and with big international talents.
Wisely, they included Finnish artists who are prominent on the local Street Art scene as well and carefully curated the murals to have longevity.
For being their first edition, UPEA16 already claims that it is the biggest street art event in Finland. Of course, they mean “mural event” as true Street Art does not seek permission and is not commissioned, rather it is done illegally. But we know what they meant.
UPEA16 artists and cities featured are Italian Tellas (in Helsinki), Swedish duo Graffitisthlm (in Helsinki), Australian artist Guido van Helten (in Helsinki), Bulgarian duo Arsek & Erase (in Turku), Swedish artist Ola Kalnins (in Riihimäki), Indonesian artist WD (in Kemi), U.S. artist Andrew Hem (in Vaasa) and Finnish artists Kim Somervuori and Teemu Mäenpää (in Hyvinkää and Hämeenlinna).
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
