Besides your typical sightseeing, hunting for hidden gems embedded in the city’s landscape adds another level of enjoyment to your travels. Street art and public art shape a community’s identity and is sure to leave an impression on visitors as well. Below are our favorite spots around Graz to find street art and public art.
Please note: This article appears in paid collaboration with VisitGraz as part of the #GrazAmbassadors project. Of course, this does not affect our opinion. We report our honest experiences without obligations. The article also contains affiliate links. Learn more about them on our Disclosure page.
Street Art in Graz
Although Graz is no Berlin, street art has become more prominent and more popular in recent years. However, because proper contracts are still hard to come by, you have to hunt for street art in Graz. To help you out, we have compiled our favorite spots for street art in Graz below.
1. Griesplatz & Surroundings
2. Feuerbachgasse
3. Taggerwerk
4. STUWO StudentCity
5. Kalvariengürtel – Peter-Tunner-Gasse – Smart City
Street Art on Griesplatz & Surroundings
The district of Gries in Graz is a prime example of how street art can add value to otherwise neglected areas of a city. Known among locals to be run-down and not very desirable in terms of living, Gries is starting to turn around, embrace its “grunge” and become all the better for it.
Tucked away just behind Griesplatz is a small little alley connecting the square to Bürgerspitalgasse. In 2016, it was the “epicenter” of the Micro Galleries Festival. Today, it is one of the city’s most colorful pathways, with street art decorating the narrow street.
Insider Tip
Not far from Griesplatz, you can also peek at street art on the walls of Postgarage.
Street Art on Feuerbachgasse
Still in the district of Gries, you can find Feuerbachgasse, another hot spot for street art in Graz. The paintings here were created by Mario Paukovic and range from historic personalities and some of their most famous quotes to fantastic creatures, juxtaposed on the narrow street.
Insider Tip
Similar to Feuerbachgasse, Niesenbergergasse is another street worth checking out for street art in Graz!
Street Art at Taggerwerk
What was once the production site for an animal feed company is currently transforming into a multifunctional center for art, sports, and community. In 2014, this process was highlighted by the Livin`Streets festival during which the two former silos became the canvas for some of the biggest pieces of street art in Graz.
Artists from all over the world participated, although Ferdinand Oberbauer of Kunstfreiraum Papierfabrik was one of the masterminds behind the project.
Street Art at STUWO StudentCity
The younger the demographic, the more street art? This may be true for one of the city’s biggest student dormitories on Eggenbergergürtel. In 2019, STUWO student housing teamed up with the Urban Art Festival Styria during which several murals were created on the grounds of the dormitories on Eggenbergergürtel.
It was the first installment of the “Future Icons Festival”, an international festival for street art, graffiti, and young innovative art. Ever since, several pieces of art have been decorating the interiors and exteriors of the building and even the underground car park!
PS: Also take a peek at the street art just across the street from the dormitories!
Street Art on Kalvariengürtel – Peter-Tunner-Gasse – Smart City
The stretch between Kalvariengürtel and the newly developed neighborhood Smart City has long been one of the most heavily trafficked streets in Graz, connecting the city center to the western districts of Eggenberg and Wetzelsdorf.
In recent years, murals have begun to pop up along this axis, breathing new life into the cityscape and encouraging passersby to slow down.
Insider Tip
For a more grungy dose of street art, don’t miss the underpass at Wienerstraße!
Public Art in Graz
Largely responsible for the curation and maintenance of public art projects in Graz is the Institute for Art in Public Space Styria, a part of Universalmuseum Joanneum. The projects generally cover a wide range of disciplines, from visual and performing arts, literature, music, to architectural approaches and interdisciplinary art forms.
There are a number of permanent projects which are supplemented by additional temporary projects throughout the year. Below you can find some of our favorite permanent installations.
Gartenlabyrinth by Hartmut Skerbisch
Tucked away in Dr.-Schlossar-Park, a small park surrounded by multi-party apartment buildings, you’ll find Gartenlabyrinth, a project initiated by kunstGarten. Located just a stone’s throw away from Triesterstraße, one of the busiest streets in the city, it’s a small oasis of calm.
The installation itself consists of 1900 evergreen Lonicera plants coming together to form a small labyrinth. From the steel sculpture at its center, six steel petals spring from it, serving as a connector between the people in the neighborhood.
Opus Magnum 13 by Viktor Kröll
What started out as a temporary project on the outer walls of Karlau Prison has since become a permanent crossover between street art and public art in Graz. Although conceptualized by Viktor Kröll, several people contributed to the final piece, including Rossella Libardoni, an Italian artist, prison inmates, and even passersby.
The artwork almost spans the entirety of the 300-meter wall and is hard to grasp in its entirety without taking several steps back.
Es gibt auch Spiegel, in denen man erkennen kann, was einem fehlt by Michael Schuster
What is real and what is true? These are two concepts Michael Schuster tried to challenge with his ever-popular installation in Landhaus. While you reflect on your own self in the mirror, a motion sensor triggers the light installation which reads “Es gibt auch Spiegel, in denen man erkennen kann, was einem fehlt” (There are mirrors in which one can see what one is missing).
What do you see?
Die unendliche Falte ist das Charakteristikum des Barock by Brigitte Kowanz
“Die unendliche Falte ist das Charakteristikum des Barock” is a quote handwritten in neon by Brigitte Kowanz from the book The Fold by Gilles Deleuze. It can be found at the Museum of History in Graz. In English, it means “The infinite fold is the characteristic of the Baroque”.
Interestingly, this modernly conceptualized light installation is positioned in such a way that it draws the eye to the ceiling of Palais Herberstein – a very much Baroque ceiling.
This installation is not the only one found at the museum. “M”, also by Brigitte Kowanz, was conceptualized for the 2017 project “Licht” (“Light”) and has been decorating the entrance to the museum ever since.
Insider Tip
Although located at the Museum of History, both light installations can actually be visited without a ticket to the exhibitions.
Hello there, fellow globetrotters! I’m Jacky, a passionate travel blogger with an insatiable wanderlust. With several years of experience in online marketing, I leverage my expertise to ensure that you get the best travel advice, tailored for the digital age. My travels have taken me to over 30 countries, and I love sharing those experiences with readers like you. Besides traveling, my other loves are my beloved cats, architecture, art, science fiction, coffee, and all things cute. My travel tips have been featured on lonelyplanet.com and in the EasyJet Traveller magazine.
this looks very interesting, I hope to visit Graz one day soon !
Hey, hello, super nice but would be nice to name artists of the murlas, cool!