Street art in Estarreja

Urban Art Festival ESTAU has brought the community and art together through several ways, such as mural painting, movies, guided visits and performances.

The municipality of Estarreja has created a consistent street art route that started with the inspiring work of Bordallo II, depicting a colourful Kingfisher out of waste. This work can be seen in the municipal park of Antuã, in Estarreja.

After the success of Bordallo II work “Guarda-rios”- created for the Birdwatching Fair ObservaRia – Urban Art Festival ESTAU has brought the community and art together through several ways, such as mural painting, installations, workshops, movies, conferences, guided visits and performances.

ESTAU – Urban Art Festival of Estarreja

Add Fuel // PT | ESTAU 2016
An accomplished graphic designer and illustrator, Add Fuel (Diogo Machado, 1980) has been building a solid reputation as a visual and graphic artist in recent years. Having first created a unique visual universe populated by sci-fi inspired, fun-loving creatures, the Portuguese artist has recently redirected his attention to reinterpreting the language of traditional tile design, and the Portuguese azulejo in particular.

Akacorleone // PT | ESTAU 2017
Akacorleone is Pedro Campiche, a visual artist of Portuguese and Swiss descent who started out as a graffiti writer in the underworld of his native Lisbon. In the field of visual arts he is known today for his dexterity in using colors, typography, characters and refined forms which he blends to achieve eye-catching compositions imbued with originality and all – pervasive humour. In Estarreja he left his characteristic universe of colours in a work called “Rising Sun”, this time inspired by Egas Moniz, his house, his studies and by whom takes care of all this.

Ana María // PR | ESTAU 2017
Ana María is a young Puerto Rican artist known for her distinct street art style of high imagination which is transferred on walls, murals and paintings. For ESTAU the artist has depicted a beautiful purple heron (Ardea purpurea), which is a very common bird species of the region.

Bicicleta sem Freio // BR | ESTAU 2016
The Brazilian graffiti artists Bicicleta sem Freio have left an impressive colourful artwork on the wall of Cine-Teatro de Estarreja, a true hymn to music and to the so typical “joie de vivre” of the south hemisphere. We can read in the mural that music is, according to these artists, “an invisible beast”. This artwork leaves everyone breathless. Powerful colours along with multiple lively elements, deeply inspired by local fauna and flora.

Bordallo II // PT | ESTAU 2016
Along with worldwide acclaimed street artist VHILS, Bordallo II was considered by Street Art News one of the best urban artists in the world. This installation – “Guarda-rios” – depicting a colourful Kingfisher that can be seen in this beautiful region scored the 9th place on WideWalls Top100! Bordallo II turns trash into art and he was surely caught the eye of the world!

Bosoletti // AR | ESTAU 2016
Born in Argentina, Bosoletti combines a very classicist style with a highly engaged art expression. His works have remarkable earth tones, mastering shadow and light. During ESTAU – Urban Art Festival of Estarreja, Bosoletti conceived 2 artworks. One of his most impressive works depicted the refugee crisis, a very powerful and moving contemporary theme.

Fintan Magee // AU | ESTAU 2016
Worldwide acclaimed Australian street artist Fintan Magee has left several marks of his art across the globe: Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Tunisia, Dublin and London. His first time in Portugal was in Estarreja. For ESTAU festival, this gifted Australian artist has painted a beautiful girl with her head on the clouds, conveying the message of a hard life for young people who live far away from the big cities and all opportunities ahead of them.

Halfstudio // PT | ESTAU 2017
Specialised in lettering, the Portuguese HalfStudio likes to create powerful messages throughout the cities. This mural is inspired by the book of Egas Moniz, entitled “A nossa casa” (Our home) written in 1950, dedicated to his wife and where the author describes his childhood and adolescence lived in Estarreja area. Egas Moniz shows in his book how the first years of his life were important in his development as a person.

Hazul // PT | ESTAU 2016
One of the most mysterious Portuguese graffiters, Hazul Luzah was born in Porto and he has never shown his face. He spent some time working undercover, creating provocative artworks, defying the establishment. Truly inspired by the blue colour, a true leitmotiv of his works, Hazul created a beautiful blue and yellow wall, depicting the charming “moliceiros”, the typical boats of the region.

Isaac Cordal // ES | ESTAU 2016
Born in 1974 in Pontevedra, Isaac Cordal is the master of miniature art. This artist strategically places his tiny men and women across the city streets and the true challenge is to find them ! He has a very critical view on globalisation, anonymous life and the destructive power of everyday routine.

Kruella d’Enfer // PT | ESTAU 2016
Ângela Ferreira is a visual artist and an illustrator known in the street art world as Kruella d’Enfer. Her creative works are fuelled by imaginary beings and ancestral myths and legends in a lively symphony of colour and huge shapes.
In Estarreja, Kruella created a true precious “Diamond”, praising female beauty and the inspiring art nouveau motifs, so typical of this region.

Manolo Mesa // ES | ESTAU 2017
“Yo vengo de todos las cosas” is the mural that the spanish artist Manolo Mesa left at Estarreja. An allegory to rural everyday life and its intrinsic values, which mirror its muse Mary. Manolo Mesa is a Spanish artist born in Cadiz (Spain). Graduate in the School of Fine Arts combines his pictorial practice in the street with his work of study. His work talks about the relationship of the human being with nature and about the resistance to an increasingly diluted nature in the city.

Mohamed L’Ghacham // MO | ESTAU 2017
Acknowledging the predilection of the artist Mohamed Lghacham for vernacular photography, an uncompromising and socially erratic photograph, Egas Moniz’s photo archive was the source of inspiration for his painting. The selected photograph dates to the 30’s of the 20th century, portraying Egas Moniz and his trusted nurse, Deolinda, at Santa Marta Hospital in Lisbon.

NeSpoon // PL | ESTAU 2016
The work of this Polish artist consists of printing traditional laceworks, either in clay or upon walls. According to her vision, laceworks contain a genetic code, deeply embedded in each culture. We find symmetry in all laces, some sort of order and harmony.

The Empty Belly // PT | ESTAU 2017
For The Empty Belly it always starts with a dot. For ESTAU, it also began with a dot that joined millions of other dots, forming a cerebral angiography, the pioneering technique invented by Egas Moniz, native of Avanca, where today one can appreciate this huge mural. It is, however, more than a simple angiography, it is a codified mural, with accurate information of all those who helped to built this moment.

VHILS // PT | ESTAU 2017
World acclaimed street artist VHILS was inspired by a local lady Dona Florinda to create another amazing mural. Dona Florinda worked in the rice fields of the region and was the inspiration behind his work. The creations of VHILS can be seen throughout the globe, namely in Brazil, Thailand, Hong Kong, Italy, United States and Ukraine.

Check out the map of street art works in Estarreja in this link !

Photos by Miguel Gonçalves.

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