Murs Murs Festival in Decazeville, street art in honour

Street art lovers? Discover the artistic journey of Decazeville set up as part of the Murs Murs Festival!

This week, head to the Aveyron for a street art festival! No, we didn’t get a lead. And yes, Aveyron is the trendy place of street art in France. You don't believe us?

On the border between the Lot and Aveyron department, the small town of Decazeville invited the best street art artists. The goal: revitalize the small mining city. A unique and completely free event!

In the spring of 2019, 20 artists from all over the world illustrated themselves by their art in the streets of Decazeville. The municipality wished to put artistic plurality at the heart of its festival. Thus, the city walls are left in the hands of international street art artists. Their technique and style are different: stencil, display, pastel, stickers, graffiti. This is a real success! Thanks to the Murs Murs Festival and the talented artists of this first edition, this former mining city is back in colour. It offers its inhabitants and visitors monumental masterpieces at every corner of the street.

Don't miss the cultural and artistic path set up within the framework of Murs Murs Festival during your next stay in Aveyron!

In the footsteps of the Murs Murs Festival in Decazeville

When you evoke the appropriation of the street or public space creatively over the short or long term, you are talking about street art, street art or urban art. Among the key figures of this contemporary art movement are the mysterious Banksy or the precursor Jef Aérosol. Passing a message, conveying emotion, embellishing an urban space or simply getting to know each other are all the reasons why these artists create and share their works.

Decazeville is a former mining city that has suffered in recent decades the decline of this industry. Still today, there are several industrial sinters in the city, which are being redesigned. Indeed, it’s been fifteen years since the city invested for its future. Both priorities go through an improvement in its landscape and a revitalization of its city centre. The Murs Murs Festival is part of a tourist revival process!

The birth of the Murs Murs Festival

The festival was born after a meeting. The actors of Decazeville Community are connected with the artist Jo Di Bona and his companion, Amélie Vielle. Jo Di Bona is a major figure in Paris’ street art scene, known to be at the origin of Pop Graffiti. This technique consists of combining collages, colourful graffiti and pop culture. Jo Di Bona and Amélie Vielle were naturally named sponsor and sponsor of this first edition of the Murs Murs Festival.

The fresco presented at the opening of the festival in May 2019 is a monumental work of 40 m long. It is made by Al, a Montpellier artist, with the help of 24 high school students. These three tables represent the revival of the basin. The black, characteristic of Decazeville's mining past, has left room for color. About 20 murals were then created throughout the city during the first two sessions of the festival.

The moments of exchange with artists

On the occasion of the festival, in addition to creative sessions, exhibitions, screenings, concerts and musical animations, as well as debates and exchanges with artists were held throughout the city. Still today, it allows residents and visitors to rediscover Decazeville from another perspective, following a cultural and artistic journey, as they would do in a museum! You soon have to go to the Aveyron? Plan a trip to Decazeville to discover these monumental and exceptional works that are now an integral part of the city!

What's behind the Murs Murs Festival in Decazeville?

Murs Murs is supported by the European Union, the department of Aveyron and the Occitania region. Mercenes of the Attractivity and Territorial Resilience Endowment Fund joined the initiative. A third session of the Murs Murs Festival is announced from October 26 to November 4, 2019.

On this occasion, artist Saype took possession of the Centre area. He represented a happy child drawing on one of the verses of the Discovery.

Artists from the first two sessions

During the first two creative sessions, about 20 artists have already been invited to express themselves on the walls of Decazeville. Their permanent works were carried out on surfaces of 50 to 800 m2. They can reach 30 m high. Who are these talents whose very eclectic creations are visible throughout the city and accessible to all?

• Jo Di Bona, who is the sponsor of the Murs Murs Festival
• Alber gives life to its characters thanks to precise curves and perfectly cut color flats
• Ardif always draws with great precision of the semi-animal creations, mid-mechanics
• Astro combines ornamental calligraphy with dynamic forms to form trumpets the fascinating eye
• Bishop Parigo offers a very colourful contemporary urban art, sometimes childish
• Doudou’style is the author of poetic works inspired by comics and manga, which frequently stage pandas
• Hopare draws attention with geometrical, just and dynamic pieces
• Iljin plays with a palette of recognizable blueish colours, abstraction and realistic female portraits
• KinMX lets its Mexican origins shine through creations that mix paint, collages, markers or even stencils
• Kouka has the will to perpetuate African art by representing Bantu warriors, usually in black and white
• Lady M is inspired by the notion of space and our relationship to the universe to create singular and very colorful pieces
• Monkey Bird Crew is distinguished by a very precise cut and features to illustrate architectures, with an animal presence
• MTO realizes hyper-realistic works on which white and black prevail
• Romain Froquet offers representations generally arboriformes and fantasists that reflect his subconscious
• Seb Toussaint creates joyous murals that mix multiple shapes, patterns and colors
• Stéphane Opéra has a very graphic and geometric approach, almost retro-futurist
• Sifat revisits calligraphy with precision and creativity
• Stoul expresses itself with a semi abstract geometric art, very colourful and recognizable at the first glance
• Vinie stages a recurring female character in a graphic world inspired by pop culture and mangas

To go

How?

The Murs Murs Festival took place in Decazeville, Aveyron. You will find several parking spaces in the area of Street Art. To take full advantage of the different creations, it is recommended to walk between the different points of interest. The two most remote spots in the city centre are about 30 minutes’ walk from each other.

To spot yourself in the city and not miss any fresco of the artistic cultural journey that has been thought during the festival, you can find on your smartphone an interactive map proposed by Decazeville Community http://bit.ly/2nsznJw, or via Street Art Cities. Otherwise, there is also a paper plan available at the city’s tourist office.

Guided bus tours of the Festival Murs Murs are sometimes organised. If you’re interested, do not hesitate to contact the tourist office or Decazeville Community to find out the next dates.

When?

The first sessions of the festival were held in late May and late June 2019, and a third session is scheduled in October/November 2019, in the presence of Saype, a young artist of the current Land Art. To find out the dates of the upcoming Murs Murs Festival creation sessions, visit the Facebook page dedicated to it. http://bit.ly/2obdFtP

The 20 works of the artistic journey imagined in the context of the festival are accessible at any time.

At what price?

Whether you're attending a creative session or simply following the artistic journey, the Murs Murs Festival is completely free!

To sleep

On site

As Decazeville is not a tourist destination, the hotel offer is very little developed. You can easily book a hotel . If you prefer to sleep at home, we invite you to find accommodation on Airbnb . You will find some accommodations close to the city centre, such as Hotel Malpel, from 55€ per night.

Nearby

To expand your possibilities, you can consider staying in one of the surrounding villages, such as Livinhac-le-haut, Aubin, Cransac or Viviez. It is possible to find a room in a hotel well noted from 60€ per night (Le Tulipier, Les Carillons, Les Cèdres Bleus or Le Gîte Sur le Chemin).

To eat

On site

If you are looking for exotic flavors, go taste the Caribbean dishes of the friendly restaurant La Cantine! Unless you'd rather enjoy a pizza at Le Wilson or Pronto Pizza pizza?

Nearby

Want to please you? For a more gourmet cuisine, you should be conquered at the Auberge du Fort in Aubin, or at the restaurant of the Hôtel du Parc in Cransac.

What I can discover in the region

What to visit in Decazeville

• The open-air mine and its mine knighting
• The Museum of Minier and Industrial Heritage
• La brasserie artisanale des Mousses du Rouergue

What to visit in the vicinity of Decazeville

• The village of Belcastel. It is one of the most beautiful villages in France and is about 30 minutes’ drive away.
• Rodez, the capital of Aveyron, and his Gothic cathedral at 45 minutes’ drive
• Sevérac-le-Château, an impressive castle built in the 13th and 14th centuries, at about 1h15 drive.
• Bozouls canyon is less than an hour’s drive from Decazeville.