For four days next week, the Promenade du Larvotto will be abuzz with the sounds of graffiti artists from the world over as Monaco welcomes back its vibrant UPAINT urban painting festival.
Street art, formerly known as graffiti, had its roots in 1970s New York City, when young people used spray paint and other materials to illegally create images on the sides of buildings and subway trains. For decades, many didn’t understand the art and therefore found it offensive, but, as it is said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and these artists, called taggers, persevered.
Fast-forward to today and street art is big business. A cousin to its original form, it is now a highly sophisticated and sought-after medium produced by talented artists, some of whom have become well-known globally.
Monaco at the forefront
Monaco saw the writing on the wall and has been at the forefront of recognising this art form. The Principality launched the Urban Painting Around the World (UPAW) festival, which morphed into UPAINT, some seven years ago and it continues to attract top artists.
This year’s crew includes: Mon Devane and Lula Goce from Spain; One Truth Bros out of Switzerland; Norway’s Martin Whatson and Hama Wood; Stom500, Lord Anthony Cahn and Nils Inne from France; Woskerski of the UK; Iéna Cruz via Italy and the USA; Rylsee from Germany; and Monaco’s own Mr One Teas.
The festival will also host interactive activities, such as the Street Art Challenge Junior, which is a showcase of Monaco’s secondary school students’ creativity. Visitors will also be able to walk through an exhibition of artworks from previous editions of UPAINT – some pieces of which will be on sale as limited edition prints – and express their own talents on a dedicated wall space.
More than art
Organiser Alberto Colman, his team and the artists invited for this edition will all be supporting a new initiative from the Prince Albert II Foundation (FPA2), which is called Re.Generation and whose purpose is to foster the fulfilment of 10 young and talented candidates under 35 years of age to become tomorrow’s leaders in the field of environmental protection.
The FPA2 will also be holding its 2023 Environmental Photography Award exhibition simultaneously on the Larvotto boardwalk.
Creativity in the virtual world
This year’s UPAINT will not only be in the vanguard regarding art, but in technology as well. It will be the Principality’s first cultural event to be held concurrently in the virtual world via DWorld, allowing more visitors than ever to take part and share in the experience.
As in previous years, collectors will be able to bid on the finished artworks from the artists on the evening of the last day at an auction organised by the Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo (HVMC). Bidders will also be able to participate online through Invaluable.com and Drouot.com.
UPAINT runs from 10am to 10pm on the Larvotto Promenade from 4th to 7th June. For more information, please click here.
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Photo credit: Axel Bastello / Palais Princier de Monaco