Nuart Aberdeen, the award-winning and internationally renowned street art festival, is to return to the walls of the Granite City from June 8-11.
The theme for this year’s festival is 'rewilding’ and will see 10 acclaimed artists visit Aberdeen to create new artwork in the city, ranging from large murals to smaller, more intricate installations.
Since the first festival in Aberdeen in 2017, it has attracted tens of thousands of visitors and locals, boosting the local economy as well as providing a lasting legacy alongside new and inspiring pieces of art throughout the city centre.
This year’s event will include several large-scale pieces, building on much loved pieces like Slim Safont’s mural ‘The Punishment’, which can be seen at Union Plaza. The striking piece was awarded fourth place in the “Best Of 2022” awards created by Street Art Cities.
Widely regarded as the best street art festival of its kind in the world, Nuart Aberdeen is a not-for-profit event supported by partners Aberdeen Inspired and Aberdeen City Council and delivered by Reed Projects.
Councillor Martin Greig, culture spokesperson for Aberdeen City Council, said Nuart was a much-anticipated event, both for Aberdeen and the international street art community.
“Nuart Aberdeen has been enjoyed by many residents and visitors to the City. The designs and images have added so much welcome colour and vitality to local streets. It will be good to see the latest imaginative creations when Nuart Aberdeen returns this June.
“The council has been a major funder of Nuart Aberdeen and other festivals such as Spectra and Granite Noir. These large scale events add so much to the city's cultural wellbeing. The forthcoming European Pipe Band championships and Tall Ships event will also bring in many visitors and help boost the economy. “
This year’s theme of rewilding explores how we create the conditions for nature to thrive and re-establish natural processes to repair ecosystems.
Martyn Reed, Founder and Artistic Director of the Nuart festivals, said the theme developed from the parallels between street art and the ‘freedom to roam’ in Scotland.
“We decided on rewilding, a topical theme which touches on many of the same issues as access and trespass, but provokes different questions and sends us down different paths. Rewilding isn’t without its own issues, of course - it’s not all meadows full of wildflowers and the freedom to roam.
“But if we take a bird’s eye view of a future city, will the roots from the art on the streets be entwinned around the granite columns of our illustrious art institutions, and will the carefully curated flowers of the institution be flooding out through the double doors and out into the high-street?
“It’s an interesting picture, which is what we live for - and what we’ll hopefully be contributing to the environment in Aberdeen this June.”
Adrian Watson, Chief Rxecutive of Aberdeen Inspired, said Nuart Aberdeen is now firmly established in Aberdeen’s cultural landscape.
“Nuart Aberdeen provides a legacy of artworks throughout the city as well as delivering economic benefits through attracting visitors to the city who in turn spend money in local shops, restaurants, and hotels.
“Year on year, visitors seek out the many art works which can now be found across the city, from Scottish artist Robert Montgomery’s poem which was part of the original festival, through to Martin Whatson’s 2022 addition of a colourful tribute to the people who worked in the North-east granite industry.
“Nuart has far reaching appeal. It attracts visitors to the city from out with the area as well as drawing local residents in to discover the new pieces. We hope that people will choose to experience Nuart Aberdeen 2023 during the festival weekend and make the most of spending time in the city.
“There will be so many murals and artworks to see, from this year as well as from previous festivals that a weekend in the city will give visitors time and opportunity to soak up everything there is to see and take in the vibrant atmosphere without having to rush.”
The returning festival adds a dynamic edge to the legacy, and Mr Watson said visitors to the city should keep their eyes peeled for both large and small creations.
“One thing is certain with Nuart Aberdeen, as well as the main murals and installations, there are always hidden gems to look out for and the 2023 festival promises to deliver plenty of new delights for visitors to Aberdeen to discover,” he said.
Nuart Aberdeen is also once again offering street art walking tours. The tours will provide people with unique insights into the artists behind the murals, what has inspired their art and the messages and meanings of the finished works.
There will also be opportunities for the public to get involved in Nuart Aberdeen, with a busy programme of workshops and events being developed.
The production of the public artworks is supplemented by Nuart Plus, an international programme of academic talks, artist presentations, film screenings, walking tours, public workshops and fringe events that take place across multiple sites during the opening weekend.
More details will follow in the coming weeks.
Anyone wanting to get a flavour of the festival before visiting can view the current murals on Aberdeen Inspired’s website - Murals (aberdeeninspired.com).
Aberdeen Inspired was established to attract, sustain and boost investment in Aberdeen’s city centre for the benefit of its levy payers and all those who live, work, shop and visit there.
In addition to levy payments, which go to support city centre improvements and initiatives, the BID brings in additional funding which that for every £1 of levy collected, at least £2 is invested in the city centre.
The BID footprint covers Union Street and the surrounding streets, including Broad Street, Market Street, Bridge Street, Huntly Street and Holburn Junction.