Constructed at the Snösätra Graffiti Wall of Fame – Stockholm

For many, art only means big, bloated oil paintings in the Louvre. For me, the concept is not a constant. Art develops, challenges and finds new paths. Art tells stories, provokes and makes you think in new ways. Yesterday we visited Snow Eater Graffiti Wall of Fame - Europe's largest legal graffiti exhibition.

In an old industrial area near Rågsved, in the middle of allotments and dark forest, the Snösätra Graffiti Wall of Fame has been located since 2014. Gray concrete walls and gates ready for demolition have been given new life with the help of hundreds of graffiti artists. Here you will find over 4500 square meters of legal graffiti art that amazes, upsets and impresses.

For many older people, graffiti is comparable to graffiti. Something that shouldn't exist, something that just destroys. For me, graffiti is contemporary art. But no need to hang art on the wall, art can take many forms. The most famous graffiti artist in the world is undoubtedly Banksy. A mythical artist, who managed to remain anonymous for many years. In the fall of 2018, he made headlines, when the work "Girl with balloon” was sold at Sotheby's in London – only to be destroyed by a built-in shredder seconds after clubbing. On his Instagram, Banksy then wrote: "The urge to destroy is also a creative urge - Picasso.” So far, Banksy doesn't seem to have painted anything in Snösätra, but who knows what the walls will look like tomorrow?

A female artist stands and puts the finishing touches on her work. We stop and watch, a small gathering of admirers. The spray can sizzles and letters are formed on the wall. It looks so simple, Every little spray of paint ends up right. There's something special about art that takes days to create, but that you know won't last. None of these works will be in the Louvre in 100 years. They might not even be around tomorrow?

The styles of the various works here in the area are completely different. Here you will find everything from Greta as Pippi Longstocking with the message "We need to get angry and transform that anger into action”, to large hives with the message “Pesticides destruction of the bee world". This is as contemporary as art can get – and the message is strong.

We walk around the area for almost half an hour and we are far from alone here. Families with children, elderly couples and young people with backwards caps. An unexpectedly large number of us have found our way here today, despite the inaccessible location.

At the end of May every year, a festival is organized here in Snösätra with food trucks, music and live paintings. Next year I will be here for sure.

How do I get here?

If you want to go by municipal transport, take the metro's green line towards Hagsätra, get off at Högdalen or Rågsved and walk 15-20 minutes. However, I recommend a car, because it is quite inaccessible.

Snow Eater Wall of Fame
Snösätragränd 1
124 65 Band hedges
Map

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