If your first association when you think of "street art” and "Germany" is Berlin, stop and read this article. The beautiful city of Dresden in southeastern Germany has its own street art scene and boasts some stunning graffiti that rival murals found in much bigger cities. But even though the scene is less developed than in other European street art Meccas, Dresden’s street art is well worth a visit.
Neustadt is home to many street art works, which you can discover alone (as I did) or with the help of street art tours. If you have only a day in Dresden, take a short look around the historic center and then cross the river Elba, where you will find a vibrant new part of the city where you can explore alternative art.
Photos by Lidija Pisker
You can see it everywhere. Buildings, benches or parking machines – practically everything that belongs to the streets, belongs to street artists in Dresden. All around Neustadt you can find a variety of graffiti, sticker art, street poster art, street installations, and stencil graffiti. Together with street art, Neustadt has also become home to a number of small shops and cafes, bars and restaurants in recent years. However, as it has become a trendy area that is popular among students and young hipsters it has also become – much more expensive.
Photos by Lidija Pisker
In Dresden, many street art painters perform solo, creating small, and sometimes huge, pieces of urban culture. And they often sign their work with a shortcut or logo in order to let everybody know who designed it. But sometimes the painting itself, the specific style, indicates the creator on its own. There are quite a few notable political art works, many of them criticizing the legacy of fascism or hostility towards refugees and immigrants.
At the moment, Dresden is hosting an exhibition titled “Magic City – the Art of the Street,“ which will end on 12 March. It presents today’s most vital and imaginative street art in all its diversity. A 2,500 square-meter model city serves as a stage, with imaginative graffiti and fly-posts everywhere, amazing 3D illusions of anamorphic art, and some fantastic objects and sculptures. For the most part, the artists did not bring their works from all over the world, but instead created them in Dresden. The ”Magic City“ exhibition was put together by the makers of “Tutankhamun ‒ His Tomb and His Treasures”, one of the most successful exhibitions ever, with over 6 million visitors worldwide, of which 150,000 attended in Dresden alone.
Photos by Lidija Pisker
Situated in a former factory complex on the outskirts of Dresden, the “Magic City” festival offers various activities such as street art exhibitions, movie screenings, and street art labs. And also there is the European premiere of “Saving Banksy,” a documentary about the famous British pseudonymous street artist Banksy. In short, all you street art lovers out there – you should definitely include this charming city in your travel plans, and you should most definitely try to attend this event.
Photos by Lidija Pisker
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