Over the last decade, Dubai has been welcoming more and more international street artists to paint murals at shopping centres and touristic areas around the city. Many of the artworks relate to local history and traditions, as Matt from Buenos Aires Street Art found out.
Mural by Seth featuring Emrati kids looking through windows (photo © BA Street Art)
Al Satwa
In 2016, the government-funded Dubai Street Museum project took off with the aim of turning the city into one of the world’s street art capitals. Rom Levy together with Sanaz Askari curated the first edition organised by Brand Dubai with international street artists such as Seth (above), Ernest Zacharevic, Martin Whatson, Case Maclaim, Hua Tunan, El See, Julia Volchkova and The Inkman taking part. Together with local artists, they painted 16 murals along 2nd November Street in the neighbourhood of Al Satwa that is one of the oldest districts in Dubai.
Mural by Ernest Zacharevic (photo © BA Street Art)
Lithuania’s Ernest Zacharevic, who is best known for his striking street art in George Town, Malaysia featuring everyday objects such as bicycles, motorbikes, buses and street furniture, created this artwork (above) featuring seven local boys playing the classic game of hoop rolling a real bicycle wheel with a stick.
Mural by Martin Whatson (photo © BA Street Art)
On the other side of 2nd November St., Norwegian street artist Martin Whatson painted this local man scaling a palm tree to pick dates.
Boatman paintd by Julia Volchkova (photo © BA Street Art)
Russian street artist Julia Volchkova, who has also created many murals of local people in Malaysian and Indonesia, chose to paint a man in a rowing boat on the side of this building in Al Satwa.
Mural by El Seed (photo © BA Street Art)
French-Tunisian artist eL Seed completed this mural (above) on the side of this five-story apartment block in his distinct style using calligraphy and Arabic lettering.
Dhow next to Sheikh Rashid Bin Mohammed Masjid mosque (photo © BA Street Art)
At the end of 2nd November St. by the mosque is also an impressive dhow that is a traditional wooden sailing boat with triangular sails which can be found in different countries around the Arabian Gulf.
Mural by ROA at City Walk shopping centre (photo © BA Street Art)
City Walk
Dubai Walls curated a project to paint a series of murals around City Walk shopping centre, Al Safa Street in 2016. Among the international street artists who were invited to take part in the project were Blek Le Rat, ROA, Vhils, Rone, The London Police, D*Face, Beau Stanton, Ben Eine, Nick Walker, Icy & Sot, Eelus and El Seed. Most of these pieces of street art are still in great condition.
Portait of a Bedouin by Vhils (photo © BA Street Art)
This carving by Portuguese artist Vhils created using hammer drills and chisles features a portrait of a Bedouin thought to have been inspired by a 1950s photograph by British explorer and photographer Sir Wilfred Thesiger who chronicled his travels in and around the Rub’ Al Khali Desert in his book Arabian Sands.
I love Dubai by Nick Walker (photo © BA Street Art)
British street artist Nick Walker using stencils painted a man with a bowler hat painting ‘I love DXB’ that is an abbreviation for ‘I love Dubai’ .
Blek Le Rat (photo © BA Street Art)
French street artist Blek Le Rat known as ‘the godfather of stencil art’ has painted several stencils around City Walk including this fun one featuring kids pulling a rope in a tug-of-war.
The London Police (photo © BA Street Art)
Netherlands-based street artists The London Police painted this cool mural featuring some of their original robot and cartoon characters. The building has since been leased to a McDonald’s restaurant but it’s great that the mural has remained intact.
Stencil by British artist Eelus (photo © BA Street Art)
British street artist Eelus painted a stencil of a boy holding a leaf being showered by multi-coloured paint paint entitled ‘Not Everything Is So Black & White’.
Huge mural depicting Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (photo © BA Street Art)
Electrical plant mural
A giant mural painted by Croatian street artist Lonac on a DEWA sub-station on Al Wasl Road features Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He’s pictured looking out of an airplane window at some of the city’s architectural landmarks including The Dubai Frame, Museum of the Future, Emirates Towers, Burj Al Arab and Burj Al Kalifa. The artwork signifies the city’s progress. Emirati calligrapher Mohammed Altamimi and digital artist Khalid Alramsi also collaborated on the mural.
Burj Khalifa – world’s tallest building in Dubai (photo © BA Street Art)
Had to include a photo of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building measuring 828 metres designed by Adrian Smith of Skidmore, Owing & Merrill Architects and completed in 2010. You might agree that the view at night from Dubai Mall is stunning.
Falcon mural next to Sofitel Hotel at The Walk (photo © BA Street Art)
The Walk at JBR
Jumeirah Beach Residence, more commonly known as JBR, is a waterfront district with high rise apartments, hotels, bars and restaurants that is one of the most popular locations for ex-pats and tourists to stay and hang out. The Walk JBR, not to be confused with City Walk, is a shopping complex where international street artists including Leon Keer (Netherlands), Eduardo Kobra (Brazil) and Brad Eastman (Australia) have been invited to brighten up the area with murals.
Mural by Leon Keer at The Walk (photo © BA Street Art)
3D artist Leon Keer from Rotterdam painted two dolls named Anne and Aisha at The Walk for the Dubai Canvas Festival. The doll (above) named Aisha appears to be sitting on a staircase but if you look closely, Leon has actually painted the staircase on the wall around her in three dimensions.
Mural by Eduardo Kobra at JBR called ‘Legend of the Arabian Horse’ (photo © BA Street Art)
Kobra’s mural painted on a staircase along The Walk depicts a series of Arabian horses running through water with a coloured geometric background. He’s also incorporated the fUnited Arab Emirates is world famous for horse breeding and the headquarters of the notorious Godolphin thoroughbred stables founded by the Maktoum ruling family is based in Dubai.
Mural by Brad Eastman at JBR The Walk (photo © BA Street Art)
Australian artist Brad Eastman was commissioned to paint a mural next to this staircase that was sponsored by Red Bull Curates. It can be found by the roundabout on Al Sayorah St. across the street from Amwaj Rotana Jumeirah Beach Hotel.
Marilyn Monroe mural at Retro Beach bar (photo © BA Street Art)
Across from The Walk by the waterfront are numerous bars, restaurant, food stalls and coffee shops. Some like Retro Beach have commissioned artists to paint murals like this Marlyn Monroe themed portrait.
Jumeirah
Sailboat – view of Burj Al Arab (photo © BA Street Art)
Jumeirah is one the most expensive areas in Dubai with one-bedroom apartments near Palm Island Jumeirah selling for up to US$800,000. And properties near Burj Al Arab with good views of the seven-stars hotel with its sailboat design sell for tens of millions of dollars.
Mural by Swiss artist Onur in Jumeirah (photo © BA Street Art)
The Dubai Street Museum government-funded project has seen international and local street artists paint several murals in over the last few years including this one (above) by Berlin-based artist Onur called ‘Reaching’. It was painted in 2018 and features a local boy holding a paint brush painting an asteroid with a smiley face.
Cow mural by Ramy Elzaghawy (photo © BA Street Art)
Came across this cool cow mural by Egyptian street artist Ramy Elzaghawy on Jumeirah Street. It features a cow wearing a fur coat and crown holding eye-glasses.
Pearl diver with net (photo © BA Street Art)
Off Jumeirah Street was also a mural of an old man fishing for pearls with a net full of oyster shells and a clothes peg on his nose.
The Palm West Beach
Mural by Shahul Hameed featuring Dubai skyscrapers (photo © BA Street Art)
Dubai-based artist Shahul Hameed was commissioned to paint a series of murals along the waterfront promenade at The Palm West Beach.
Stairwell painted by Shahul Hameed along Palm Jumeirah Road (photo © BA Street Art)
Mural by Shahul Hameed outside Hilton Hotel (photo © BA Street Art)
Kite Beach
Welcome to Kite Beach mural (photo © BA Street Art)
Kite Beach is a public beach located to the south of Jumeirah that is popular for kite surfing, water sports and beach activities. The complex includes a skatepark plus food trucks, drinks stands, bars and restaurants. At one of the entrances is a big 3D mural featuring a gorilla with sunglasses holding a paint roller that has become popular for selfies. Definitely the nicest beach we visited in Dubai.
Al Karama
Dubai Frame is a couple of blocks from Karama Shopping Complex (photo © BA Street Art)
Al Karama is a residential district to the north of Dubai, perhaps best known for The Dubai Frame that has a design that resembles a giant picture frame. The venue sells tickets to go up the building to get panoramic views of the city.
‘Paddle Pop Parrot’ mural at Karama Shopping Complex (photo © BA Street Art)
The neighbourhood is also home to a large low-rise shopping complex with many independent clothes shops and jewelry stores. Along 18B Street are 24 murals or graffiti pieces painted on 12 buildings by six Malaysian graffiti artists and two local artists. The project was sponsored by Wasl Properties. The murals above painted by Yumz One and Katun are entitled ‘Paddle Pop Parrot’.
Mural featuring a boat & pearl in the shell (photo © BA Street Art)
Like many murals around Dubai, native animals, the city’s fishing industry, its ship building heritage and textile traditions are common themes.
Mural featuring balls of wool & embroidery (photo © BA Street Art)
This mural above featuring balls of wool and the word Dubai in the stitching was painted by Malaysian artist Abdul Rashade.
Shark & stingray by Pakey One (photo © BA Street Art)
This mural above including a shark and stingray was painted by Malaysian artist Pakey One and is entitled ‘Cartilaginous Gang’.
DIFC Sculpture Park
Artwork by Ayla Turan at DIFC Sculpture Park (photo © BA Street Art)
If you’re into sculpture, DIFC Sculpture Park is worth a visit with a number of outdoor and indoor sculptures around the building. There’s also no admission fee. This sculpture (above) was created by German-born artist Ayla Turan and is called ‘Rainbow Baby’. Many of the sculptures are temporary so it’s a good idea to check out DIFC website about exhibitions and installations.
Museum of The Future (photo © BA Street Art)
The sculpture park is next to Museum of The Future in downtown Dubai. There are also few pieces of street art nearby but we found very difficult to park in this area to be able to stop and take photos.
Spending a week in Dubai in summertime, we found it’s a city that’s more designed for the car than the pedestrian, particularly in 40c+ temperatures! So taxi is the probably the best means to visit some of the street art hot-spots but bear in mind that some of the different neighbourhoods can be 15 or 20 km apart with a journey time of 20 or 25 minutes between them.
Also check out our article about the best street art in Abu Dhabi
All photos © Buenos Aires Street Art
