If, in your travels, you tend to go to the finest museums and galleries across the globe, then no doubt you will be visiting the likes of New York City, Paris, London, Rome, and Florence. Between these 5 cities alone there are thousands of museums and galleries featuring some of the finest works ever produced.
Even as an art lover, you may still grow tired of spending so much time indoors and traveling from museum to museum. Yes, you will see amazing artwork, but you will also miss some of the best work that’s happening right now on the streets.
And it’s on the actual streets where today’s artists are showing their work these days. Street art is becoming quite popular, and you could make the case that today’s street artists will be tomorrow’s versions of Michelangelo, Monet, or Van Gogh. Keep in mind that many of the artists that we revere and adore from these times were not so well liked in their own time and many were even looked down upon. Van Gogh never even sold a painting in his lifetime.
Street art is transforming not only the way we view and approach art, but it’s also enriching and enlivening the cities where we live and visit. One such city that’s having a street art renaissance is the town we’re visiting - Lagos, Portugal. The street art scene here is alive and well . . . even flourishing!
And much of this is due to the Laboratório de Actividades Criativas (LAC). They run a yearly residency program - Artistas Unidos Em Residência or United Artists in Residence (ARTURb) – which is a program that invites a small international group of street artists to come together in Lagos to create and exhibit their works for the entire town to enjoy.
Museums and galleries are fantastic - I spend a good bit of time in them when I travel, but don’t overlook what’s happening on the streets. Street art is powerful, impactful, and important. But most of all, it’s enjoyable. Here are a few street art scenes from Lagos for your viewing pleasure.