Nuart, Aberdeen’s street art festival, has steadily transformed the grey landscape of the Granite City.
Launched in 2017, Nuart Aberdeen has been building a legacy – and reputation – across not just Scotland, but the world.
“I have heard other people say it is the best street art festival in the world – and it really is,” said Nuart curator Martyn Reed.
“Of course, I curate it, but to hear other people say that is the cherry on the cake.”
From bright balloon murals which seem to float from the walls they're painted on to realistic black and white portraits, artists from around the world have made their mark on the city.
With the 2023 festival having come to a close, here are 23 of the best murals hidden around Aberdeen from across the years.
1. Nuart Aberdeen 2023: Manola Mesa
Manolo Mesa’s street art has been featured on walls around the world, from his home country of Spain to the likes of Poland, the US and even Algeria. After beginning his art career painting graffiti with his older brother, Francisco Mesa, in 2002, his works developed after studying at the University of Fine Arts in Seville. Mesa’s Aberdeen mural graces the walls of the Robert Gordon’s College Blackfriars Building and features ceramics. The artist uses his study of the objects to question the links between past and present, tradition and innovation, and abandonment and resistance. This work is on St Andrew Street, but can be spotted from Denburn Road.
2. Nuart Aberdeen 2022: James Klinge
Glasgow artist James Klinge made his Nuart debut in style in 2022, with his art beginning with detailed hand cut stencils and descending into self-described “controlled chaos”. The chaos Klinge describes is likely contained to his process, as his finished artwork sits above a busy road with a woman cheekily calling for silence. Though his portrait perches on the wall of the Ibis Hotel, absolute silence isn’t likely with its location along the A956 Virginia Street and opposite the harbour.
3. Nuart Aberdeen 2017: Robert Montgomery
Robert Montgomery’s bold work which was installed as part of Nuart Aberdeen’s first year in 2017. The Scottish artist has been described as a vandal, a street artist, a post-Situationist, a punk artist and the “poet’s Banksy” and his Nuart project was created with former US President Donald Trump in mind.
4. Nuart Aberdeen 2022: Jofre Oliveras
Another Spanish artist, Jofre Oliveras’ Aberdeen mural titled “The Man Who Owns The Stone” focuses on societal disconnection, meeting the theme of reconnection for Nuart 2022. Perhaps controversial for Scotland, a proud country, Oliveras thinks “nationalism obscures the vision” and that “identifying with national identity is defending the interests of the people who oppress us". Regardless, his Frederick Street mural featuring a man with his face covered by a flag is thought provoking political and continually relevant.