I think that interesting street art can make the dreariest part of any city feel alive and, amazingly enough, little Olhão is home to a very active and talented crew of artists. Throughout the nooks and crannies of the city you can find works by Blubla Crew, the artist SEN, and others. SEN’s work is often commissioned by local businesses and is quite prolific.
First, a look at some of my favorite pieces. These are quite old and have a style that is quite unique, captivating, and a bit haunting at times.
Next, let’s explore some art based on or inspired by existing works (or maybe some of them just seem familiar to me).
The main street through town has an absolutely amazing old house which has been turned into a piece of art!
And throughout town there are murals and art pieces hidden all over the place. Here are just a couple of my favorites.
SEN has done a new series of dog art including a mural that covers the whole side of a large building.
And I’ll end with a couple of the more official pieces of art, usually on businesses. The amazing mural showing the history of the fishing industry in the city (featuring actual people from Olhão – at least one is our neighbor) may be torn down as townhouse/resort development continues.
Honestly, this is just a glimpse into the art which imbues Olhão with a soulfulness that isn’t as apparent in other cities in the Algarve. If you are in Portugal and enjoy street art bring your camera and spend a day wandering the streets of the city, you will surely find some hidden treasures that I missed!
4 responses to “Olhão Street Art”
Very beautiful, I hope future developments help the city and their people and do no harm. The artwork is amazing. I really enjoy and appreciate these blogs, thanks for your hard work putting them together. Aunt, Peggy
Thanks Peggy! It is so uplifting walking around town and constantly seeing/finding new artwork. I do think the community is proud of their artists and will aim to preserve the works when feasible.
I do think street art is a living thing by nature, so change is inevitable. So much here is done on ruins which will likely be developed at some point, which is necessary too.
I love the city art. Much more enjoyable than the random tagging throughout this area. Even the simple guy holding the flower adds so much life and character to the building.
Me too! I think a city with areas of disrepair (which most cities have) is so much more appealing when it has awesome street art. I love that some street art lasts so long in Portugal. NYC is great but it felt like everything was constantly being painted over.