Oxford street art & graffiti – the best murals in the city

Oxford is one of Britain’s most historic cities with its old colleges and medieval buildings. Despite the city’s strict planning laws, in recent years the local council has given permission for artists to paint murals in some neighbourhoods. Photos by Buenos Aires Street Art.

Street art on Cowley Road at The Library (photo © BA Street Art)

Cowley Road

Cowley Road is probably the best area in Oxford to check out street art. These cool artworks were painted by MES Crew on the front of The Library bar in summer 2024 and include colourful characters from books by famous authors from Oxfordshire or writers who studied at Oxford University.

Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland at The Library (photo © BA Street Art)

Dr Seuss’ Cat in the Hat from Alice in Wonderland (photo © BA Street Art)

Oxford colleges like Christ Church are famous for inspiring novels such as Alice in Wonderland and Alice through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll.

Christ Church College’s Tom Tower on St Aldate’s (photo © BA Street Art)

The White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland (photo © BA Street Art)

C.S. Lewis author of the Chronicles of Narnia also lived in Oxford and Agatha Christie lived in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (photo © BA Street Art)

J.R.R. Tolkien is another world famous author who studied and lived in Oxford and was a professor at Oxford University. Tolkien was good friends with C. S. Lewis and the pair would meet regularly at The Eagle & Child pub in St. Giles. This artwork (above) features Gandalf and the ring and the names of different novels by Tolkien such as Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit on the spine. Also check out our blog post including murals of C.S. Lewis in Belfast.

The Wind in the Willows (photo © BA Street Art)

MES crew also painted characters Mr. Toad, Ratty and Mole from novel The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame. The author studied at St Edward’s School and is buried at Holywell Cemetery in Oxford.

Inspector Morse painted by MES crew (photo © BA Street Art)

The TV series Inspector Morse from the books written by Colin Dexter regularly featured the detective drinking a pint in Oxford pubs like The Kings Arms, Turf Tavern and Eagle & Child along with some of the city’s famous buildings and landmarks.

Artworks depicting scenes from Alice in Wonderland outside Mad Hatter bar on Iffley Road (photo © BA Street Art)

Mural by Luke Hollingworth on Catherine St (photo © BA Street Art)

One of the best known murals in Cowley is that of a smiling lion painted by Luke Hollingworth in 2016. Luke is an artist from Wiltshire who paints under the name Syd.

Landmark – Radcliffe Camera off Cowley Road painted by Reves One (photo © BA Street Art)

One of Oxford’s most iconic buildings is the Radcliffe Camera. This mural (above) was painted in 2017 by Oxford Graffiti Crew at the Cowley Road Carnival. The mural can be found at Moberly Close just off Cowley Road.

Radcliffe Camera in Oxford City centre (photo © BA Street Art)

Electrical boxes

Electrical boxes on Cowley Road (photo © BA Street Art)

A street art project called ‘Operation Boombox’ organised by MES Crew with funding from Arts Council England in 2023 saw different street artists paint electrical boxes on Cowley Road near the mosque with the idea of turning the city’s green utility boxes into boomboxes.

Eastern Bypass 

Portraits by Delicious 13 close to Oxford’s Mini plant (photo © BA Street Art)

Close to the Mini BMW plant, also known as Cowley Works, artist Delicious 13 has painted some cool portraits on the walls of the pedestrian walkway that goes under the Eastern Bypass Road.

Smoking portrait by Delicious 13 (photo © BA Street Art)

These monochrome portraits were painted in July 2024. And other street artists and graffiti artists have also painted walls of the tunnel.

Graffiti on Eastern Bypass Road (photo © BA Street Art)

Meadow Lane skatepark

Skatepark has become a graffiti hotspot with artworks like this one above (photo © BA Street Art)

Meadow Lane Skatepark is a popular spot for graffiti. The initiative by Oxford Wheels Project helped provide legal walls for graffiti artists to paint.

Cartoon dog painted at the skatepark (photo © BA Street Art)

Walls and panels around the ramps and jumps have been decorated by different artists.

Graffiti by Seven, Lunar, Romer & Birdman at skatepark (photo © BA Street Art)

Bridges

Bridges along the river in Oxford are another good spot to see street art. The Oxford Canal Mural Project has organised a series of artworks under bridges along the waterways around Oxfordshire.

Kingfisher mural by Richard Wilson by the canal (photo © BA Street Art)

Kingfishers can be seen along the banks of the Isis River in Oxford and artist Richard Wilson has painted a mural of one catching a fish in its beak under Frenchay Road Bridge. Other artworks featuring native fauna and flora have been painted by artists Tom Webb and Dan Wilson on the sides of Frenchay Road Bridge as part of the same project.

Dragon mural by Mani under Donnington Bridge (photo © BA Street Art)

All photos © Buenos Aires Street Art