Nuart Aberdeen 2024: Everything you need to know about the street art festival - including locations

Aberdeen-born artist KMG is returning for Nuart 2024. | Brian Tallman

Artists from around the world have started to arrive in Aberdeen ahead of Nuart 2024.

The world-class street art festival will return to the Granite City from Thursday, June 6 to Sunday, June 9 with a UK exclusive film screening of documentary Banksy And The Stolen Girl set to launch this year’s events.

Since 2017, Nuart has attracted tens of thousands of visitors to Aberdeen as well as dozens of international artists with this year’s artist line up including the city’s own KMG, who has created two large murals during previous festivals, and Hera, one of the creators behind the iconic Aberdeen Market mural.

Ahead of events kicking off, here’s everything you need to know about Nuart Aberdeen 2024, including dates, locations, what’s on and more.

When is Nuart Aberdeen 2024?

Returning for 2024, Nuart Aberdeen will take place from Thursday, June 6 to Sunday, June 9.

French duo Murmure, Paul Ressencourt and Simon Roché, created this work for Nuart which is nestled on Queen Street, and just visible from West North Street and King Street. | Conor Gault

Artists have already started to arrive ahead of the festival’s launch to erect murals around the city centre, with additional events including art workshops and an academic conference also running across the weekend.

What is Nuart?

Nuart Aberdeen is a street art festival which is widely regarded among the world’s best.

The festival first arrived in Aberdeen in 2017, bringing in dozens of international artists and attracting tens of thousands of visitors and locals to the city centre, boosting local businesses and providing legacy artwork alongside new pieces of art which can be continually revisited.

Nuart is supported by Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen Inspired, with the aim of making art part of people's everyday lives, which it does by challenging traditional notions of what public art is.

Nuart Aberdeen 2024 locations

Art has began to pop up around Aberdeen ahead of Nuart 2024, following the planned spots for this year’s event being revealed.

Organisers began seeking planning permission in May to confirm which walls will be transformed as part of this year’s street art festival. A new map has since been released confirming where 10 of this year’s artworks can be found.

Hera will take on the Union Point building at Blaikie’s Quay, overlooking the harbour. Also welcoming visitors to the city will be KMG’s latest work which will cover four walls at Aberdeen International Airport.

Meanwhile, other buildings set to be transformed as part of Nuart Aberdeen include Atholl House and the former John Lewis building.

The full list of 2024 Nuart Aberdeen locations:

• Hera — Union Point, Blaikie’s Quay, Aberdeen Harbour
• KMG — Car Park, Aberdeen International Airport (opposite main terminal)
• Niels Shoe Meulman — Atholl House, Guild Street
• Mahn Kloix — Wapping Street (on the side of the Trinity Centre car park)
• Case Maclaim — Ibis Hotel, Shiprow
• Millo — Aberdeen Health Village, 50 Frederick Street
• Cbloxx — Former John Lewis building, Loch Street (opposite the Bon Accord Centre)
• Bahia Shehab — Loch Street (behind Nickel & Dime)
• Addam Yekutieli AKA Know Hope — Simpson Pavilion, Woolmanhill

In addition, there will be a city-wide treasure hunt involving works by Wasted Rita which some locals have already spotted. This instalment includes navigation signs with messages directing people to find a “Treacherous TikTok celebrity” and those such which point either toward “Unlimited new things to buy” or “Erratic Human Complacency”.

What is the theme of Nuart 2024?

The theme of Nuart Aberdeen 2024 is “Living Heritage”.

Said to represent the shift in heritage as it passes from generation to generation, the theme also refers to cultural practices and skills being passed down within a community.

Martyn Reed, the curator of Nuart Aberdeen, has also described this year’s Nuart theme as “Intangible Cultural Heritage”.

He said: “Living heritage incorporates the parts of our shared past that live in our present – everyday rituals and practices, cultural expressions, shared memories, celebrations, festivals, stories, songs, and craft skills that help to define who we are.”

The theme has also been established to reflect the nature of the festival, as some of the art produced for Nuart has itself been lost to time or changes within the environment, such as the demolition of Aberdeen Market.

Reed said: “The ephemeral nature of much of the culture we work with and produce in Aberdeen could itself be regarded as intangible cultural heritage, as the loss of first large scale mural from Herakut produced on the old Market back in 2017 would attest. Something many will be happy to hear we’ll be revisiting this year

What’s on during Nuart 2024?

Covering all activities outside the art being produced, Nuart Plus will include the International Street Art Conference 2024, as well as film screenings, workshops and more.

Inspired Nights

From 4.30pm on Friday, June 7 and from 12pm on Saturday, June 8 & Sunday, June 9 at Shiprow

Inspired Nights x Nuart Aberdeen will return for 2024 in a new location at Shiprow. The open air food and drink event will act as a hub for this year’s festival, with live entertainment, food and drink and other family friendly entertainment available.

Street Art Double Bill: Hera X Banksy

From 6.15pm on Thursday, June 6 at The Lemon Tree

The festival will open on Thursday, June 6 with a conversation between Hera, or Jasmine Siddiqui as she’s also known, and cultural critic Carlo McCormick. It will then be followed with the exclusive UK premiere of Banksy And The Stolen Girl, a film about one of Banksy’s stolen artworks, with an introduction by Dr Enrico Bonadio. The screening is free however those looking to attend bust book in advance.

Chalk Don’t Chalk

From 11am–3pm on Saturday, June 8 & Sunday, June 9 at Marischal College

For the third year, the Chalk Don’t Chalk workshop for children will return to Marischal College. This year’s workshop will be run by artist Molly Hankinson with the goal to create one of the biggest chalk murals in the world.

KMG preparing ahead of Nuart's Chalk Don't Chalk event in 2023. Image: Conor Gault | Contributed: Conor Gault

Nuart Plus Street Art Conference — Day 1: Living Heritage

From 11am–5pm on Friday, June 7 at Aberdeen Art Gallery

On Friday, the first day of the Nuart Plus Street Art Conference will take place from 11am at Aberdeen Art Gallery. Another free event which needs to be booked, attendees are welcome to come and go throughout the day as they please. Speakers include Dr Erik Hannerz, Dr Enrico Bonadio and Professor Ilaria Hoppe, with panels discussing topics from the preservation of street art under heritage law to ‘bad street art’ as an everyday form of heritage.

Fight Club aka the Pub Debate

From 9pm–11pm on Friday, June 7 at Spin, 10 Littlejohn Street

Two opposing teams made up of guest artists, academics and industry professionals will debate the topic “the street is more important than the museum”. Audiences are encouraged to participate and help settle the score with guest DJs until 1am.

Nuart Plus Street Art Conference — Day 2: Intangible Cultural Heritage

From 11am–5pm on Saturday, June 8 at Aberdeen Art Gallery

On Saturday, the second day of the Nuart Plus Street Art Conference, audiences will have the chance to meet festival artists including KMMG, Cbloxx, Molly Hankinson and Niels Shoe Meulman. Highlights include panels with artists such as Addam Yekutieli and Bahia Shehab as well as a discussion of the history of flyposting and how it intersects with street art’s own history of pasting, with speakers including Adrian Burnham and Tim Horrox.

Closing Party: Double Bill at Spin

From 8pm–1am on Friday, June 7 at Spin, 10 Littlejohn Street

Opening the closing party will be cultural critic Carlo McCormick with his “Heritage, a haunting” Fireside Chat at 8pm, which will then be followed by F*ck Art, Let’s Dance: Fald X Hep Time, a DJ set focusing on music heritage from 10pm until 1am.

Nuart Aberdeen walking tours

One of the most popular events of the festival, Nuart walking tours will return for 2024. Starting from the Aberdeen Maritime Museum on Shiprow, there will be two walking tours per day on both Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9.

Covering a distance of around 1 mile, the tours last between 60-90 minutes and will run at 1pm and 4pm. This year Stuart Holdsworth, editor of the award-winning street art website ‘Inspiring City’, will act as a special guest guide.

Titled “The Punishment”, Spanish artist Slim Safont’s striking mural is among Nuart Aberdeen’s best. | Brian Tallman

While they are free, those looking to attend should book in advance.

If joining a large group isn’t appealing, you can also plan your own route through Aberdeen Inspired’s website using their Nuart map.

What to know about the artists taking part in Nuart 2024

Eleven artists from around the world are transforming Aberdeen walls as part of Nuart 2024. Last year’s festival line-up included artists such as Jamie Reed, the designer behind the Sex Pistols album covers, as well as Scottish artist KMG, who is returning for 2024.

In addition, Frankfurt-born painter Jasmin Siddiqui - also known as Hera - will return to Nuart. Her work which was on the side of the now demolished Aberdeen Market was among the festival’s early murals.

Jamie Reid created Nuart Aberdeen mural on Loch Street, just across the road from the Bon Accord Centre. | Clarke Joss/clarkejossphotography.co.uk

Here are all 11 Nuart Aberdeen 2024 artists:

Addam Yekutieli aka Know Hope: An American-born Israeli artist from Tel Aviv who creates social practice projects, immersive installations and public artworks.

Bahia Shehab: A multidisciplinary artist, designer, political activist and historian from Cairo whose work focuses on the interaction and intersection of modern identity and ancient cultural heritage.

Case Maclaim: From Germany, Andreas von Chrzanowski (under the name Case Maclaim) is a pioneer of photorealism and for over two decades has left fingerprints in his art in more than 20 countries.

Cbloxx: English muralist, painter and multidisciplinary artist Jay Gilleard is known for co-founding internationally acclaimed street art duo Nomad who painted the tallest mural in the UK.

Hera: A German-born artist who is known for using a variety of different mediums in her work, which typically portrays mythological creatures and darkly comedic and satirical scenes.

KMG: Aberdeen’s KMG is a Scottish based artist who has been making work on the street for over a decade. With a strong belief in the power of art, KMG also regularly works with community groups, healthcare and educational institutions to help make art as accessible as possible.

Mahn Kloix: French artist Mahn’s work always contains a message to those fighting for a better world, crafted specifically to be shared through street art.

Millo: Italian artist Francesco Camillo Giorgino, known as Millo, paints large-scale murals that feature friendly inhabitants exploring their urban setting often incorporating architecture into his work which is built using simple black and white lines with dashes of colour.

Molly Hankinson: Now living in Glasgow, though originally from London, Molly Hankinson is a visual artist who creates honest and unapologetic representations of people and communities through an intersectional feminist lens.

Niels Shoe Meulman: A visual artist from the Netherlands, Muelman is known for his work which initiated the Calligraffiti movement, claiming “a word is an image and writing is painting”.

Wasted Rita: Portuguese artist Wasted Rita’s work often involves of a variety of media including sculptural objects, installation, painting, drawing, and writing.