OK. I’ll admit it. Last week’s post on Recycling in Portugal was pretty wonky. So this week we’re going to do something a lot lighter.
Several weeks ago we wrote about calçadas, the Portuguese cobblestones that are often used to make intricate designs on sidewalks and plazas. This week we’re going to raise our sights a bit and have a look at some of the street art that we’ve seen as we’ve walked around Porto.
We’re calling this “Part 1” because there is so much more we haven’t seen. We’ll seek out more and do another post sometime later. (Maybe after I do “Recycling – Part 2”.)
I always thought the most of these images were created by talented amateurs with paint brushes and spray cans. But I was surprised to find that much of it is the work of professional artists. The colorful painted tile mural at the top of this post was created by the Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos in 2016. It is located on the side wall of the Steak and Shake restaurant at the Praça Guilherme Gomes Fernandes.
Before 2014, graffiti and street murals were outlawed and destroyed. The President of Porto, Rui Rio, spent over 150,000 euros funding “Anti-graffiti brigades” that erased street murals and cleaned walls. In 2014, a new city President, Rui Moreira, was elected. Moreira reversed the policy and recognized urban art as a way to enhance the public spaces of Porto. The Porto Urban Art Program was launched to turn the city into an “open-air gallery”. (As an interesting side note, earlier this month Rui Moreira was just elected again as President of Porto. We’ll have to do more reading to connect the dots.)
There is still plenty of graffiti – the scrawled spray painted signatures – but along with it are numerous works of art that are delightful to look at. Many are placed in public spaces designated by the city. Others are found on abandoned buildings and in places sanctioned by property owners.
What We’ve Seen
One of the first pieces we saw when we moved here was this starry-eyed guy done by the street artist Fedor.
It is located on the Rua do Barão de Forrester several blocks south of our neighborhood. We pass it frequently on our way into the center of the city and are always happy to see it.
Sometimes we find multiple works by the same person. Here are two by the French artist STRA. A Google search identifies a number of other works by STRA in the Porto region. We will track some of them down.
This piece is outside the Via Caterina Shopping center in Porto. 
This piece is on the Praça de Mousinho de Albuquerque, one half block from the Casa da Música concert hall.
Here are two by the Porto artist Rafi die Erste.
We saw both of these on one evening while walking down the Rua de Cedofeita, but I only took a photo of the one on the left. When we returned a few days later to get the second photo, we found that the one on the right had been defaced. Photos on Rafi’s Facebook page show she had just done the painting in late September.
Not all the art we see is on flat walls. Several years ago the Porto City Council challenged the creative community to turn ordinary electric power boxes into works of art. We photographed these on Rua das Flores, near the São Bento train station.
Some of the street art we’ve seen serves a dual purpose – being decorative as well as functional. The Boémia Caffé in Boavista has murals painted on the metal shutters they close at night.
This lady and her cat welcome you to the Tasquinha do Canto restaurant.
In 2018, the Spanish artist Liqen painted El Gato de Cobalto, The Blue Cobalt Cat, in a narrow street off the Rua das Flores. The four-story tall painting includes symbols that reflect the artist’s thoughts about our reliance on technology.
Many of the murals are whimsical, like the one of these two characters. The signature and the style suggest this was a collaboration between two well-known Porto artists – Pedro Podre and Mesk (a.k.a. Gustavo Teixeira).
Other murals appear to be more menacing, like this image of a leopard staring out from an abandoned building on the Praça de Mousinho de Albuquerque.
Other pieces are visually bold and sometimes shocking, like this one done by the Swedish artist John Beijer in 2020. It is located on the Rua de António Enes in the Carvalhido neighborhood of Porto.
You can see a photo of the artist at work on this mural on his Facebook page.
Not all street art is paint on the walls. These wispy cloth sculptures were suspended above the pedestrian mall on the Rua de Santa Catarina one weekend day this summer.
This is one of my favorite images of Porto. It makes me happy every time I look at it.
And finally, some of the art on the walls of the street is just stunning to look at. Here’s another of my favorite pieces.
So if a picture is worth a thousand words, you just finished an 18,000 word epistle. We hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit of the art that surrounds us in Porto. What’s beautiful in your neighborhood? Leave a comment below or send a picture to mike@thecookandthewriter.com.
Enjoy your weekend! / Aproveite o seu fim de semana!
Mary and Mike
The Cook and The Writer
Love that black kitty cat! I think we could use some gorgeous paintings here.
Hi Bonnie,
Maybe Exhibit Columbus could commission some. It’s one type of public art that Columbus hasn’t done. Almost surprising.
Take care,
Mike
Enjoyed seeing all the beautiful street art. Philadelphia has done many murals also, most of them beautiful, but many unfortunately have been defaced. Crazy that people want to ruin beautiful art that decorates a city. Keep enjoying, love reading your adventures.
Hi Alice,
Thanks for your comment. I think it’s sad that public art gets defaced. Hopefully, the artists can keep pace and stay ahead.
Our best to you and Earl,
Mike
I really like those art pieces and that leaders are providing funding for professional artists, or artists want-to-be, to create such art. Our town, Greeneville, TN is renowned for Andrew Johnson and we have a lot of historical places in downtown Greeneville. We have an artist who is painting murals on the sides of downtown buildings. Like a steam train on the side of a building downtown – we have some historic “railroad hotels”, and other art related to the town’s history.
Thanks for sharing and blessings to you both.
Hi Art,
Great to hear from you. I’m glad to hear about the murals being painted in Greeneville, particularly since they remind people of the town’s history. The pieces we see here don’t have that kind of grounding – but it’s a different kind of art.
All the best,
Mike
Beautiful pictures of fabulous art in Porto. Enjoying all your adventures in Porto…hoping we could come visit someday! Love, Sue and Eddie
Hey Sue and Eddie,
So glad you liked the art. We do too. There will always be a place for you to come and visit. Love, Mary
Beautiful way to start the day Mike, thanks for sharing your adventures.
Hi Mr. and Mrs. York,
Thanks for your comment. We appreciate the feedback and your interest.
Mike
Thanks so much for sharing! I love the wonderful paintings and great variety!!!
Thanks, Charlie. I’m glad you liked it. We had fun compiling the pictures.
Mike
What a fun way to start a Saturday morning here in the US! Thank you, especially, for including kitty art. To me, cat sighting is a joy, however it comes my way.
Bravo to you two for the bravery and heart to live your dreams. Have a wondrous weekend!
Nan
We are so glad that you start your Saturday morning with us. After you mentioned “kitty art” I told Mike that I was amazed at how many artists include a cat in their works. Thanks for being such a great commentor. Mary
We are fortunate to have wonderful street art in Cascais as well. One particular project stands out as it covers the walls of a social housing project https://expatinportugal.substack.com/p/when-art-overcomes-graffiti
Hi Nancy,
Thanks for sharing the link. I’m sure some of our readers will be interested to see that project. It is quite impressive. And I, too, am sad to hear that it’s been suspended.
Have a great day!
Mike