It seems that the best street art years are rather behind us. However, good art appears from time to time on Lodz’s walls. Whoever saw what NeSpoon painted or Bordalo II created this year will undoubtedly confirm this.
So, let’s see what more or less interesting artwork has been painted on the walls of Lodz in 2024.
Murals in Lodz from 2024:
- NeSpoon
- Bambi by Bordalo II
- Cztery Strony by Otecki
- Maciej Bielewicz
- Elephants by TOPE
- KruK Maluje
- Paprocki Murale
- Yrwig
- Maciej Walczak
- Anka Lesniak
- GOUDA WORKS
- Donut Studio
- Good Looking Studio
- Paulina Kwietniewska
- Klaudia Rutkowska
- Faces of Literature
- Rejwach. The Exhibition in the Abandoned
- Independent Art
NeSpoon, Wólczańska 217
The mural that everyone in Poland talked about. Created by an amazing artist from Warsaw. Not only talented but also a warm person. Almost everyone I’ve talked to about NeSpoon confirms this. The mural is impressive for two reasons. Firstly, the visual aspect. Pay attention to details and colours. It’s taking a breath.
The second thing is the story behind the painting. The lace we’re looking at on the wall exists but on a smaller scale. NeSpoon found this lace in a nearby antique shop a while before starting on the project. But not only this piece of material inspired the artist to work. In the NeSpoon’s words:
While the history of the textile industry in Łódź is quite well known and documented, the tradition of machine lace production in this city is much less recognized. I was inspired by it when painting my mural at 217 Wólczańska Street.
The mural looks amazing, even in photos. In a person, it knocks you off your feet. That’s why I highly recommend visiting Lodz to see it! NeSpoon’s work stands out in the neighborhood, so you will have no problem finding it.
Bambi by Bordalo II, Słowiańska 1/9
People of Lodz have long cried for the swift – the mural with the threatened specie of bird made by Bordalo II. The mural had to be removed because of the renovation. Fortunately, the investor promised that he would do his best to invite Bordalo II to Lodz again. And it happened! With the help of the Urban Forms Foundation and the investor’s funds, Bordalo II created another animal in Lodz as part of his Big Trash Animals series. This time, not a bird, but a deer. Despite the mural being made from garbage, it looks very realistic. When you look at it in person, pay attention to the details.
Cztery strony by Otecki, Struga 17
How about a mosaic mural? Something like this also appeared in Lodz in 2024. Otecki who is the author of this work wasn’t in Lodz for the first time. You can find his other mural in another area of Lodz – Bałuty, which I wrote about HERE.
Let’s back to the mosaic – the work is over 100m2 and was created over 4 weeks. Do you see how many tiles were used to build this masterpiece?
Bielik by Maciej Bielewicz, Kopcińskiego 31
Another mural is simple but quite impressive. We are talking about the white-tailed eagle that flies over one of the walls of the Faculty of Geographical Sciences at the University of Lodz.
The work is the culmination of the “White-tailed Eagle Online” project, which observed life around the white-tailed eagle’s nest. At the same time, the bird’s widely spread wings are a message to students – anyone can spread their wings and gain knowledge. At least according to one of the sponsors of the mural. Well, I am not here to judge.
The first design of the mural envisioned a different background – one that was more similar to the sky. However, in the end, the artist – Maciej Bielewicz – decided that the blue colour, which dominates the architecture of the building, would disturb the final effect and chose something more neutral. This is also another Lodz mural painted with anti-smog paints.
The artist, a graduate of the Lodz Academy of Fine Arts, has already painted a few murals in Lodz. He is the author of the mural with the black stork, at Orla 3.
Elephants by TOPE, ul. 6 Sierpnia 53/57
If you see a little black house with track pants and white shoes on the wall, you should know that it’s the work of TOPE. He paints in Lodz daily but you can also find his ‘sporty’ houses in many places in Poland. I even managed to come across his work in Gdansk, and I would like to remind you that it’s at the sea, and Lodz isn’t.
However, what TOPE created on 6 Sierpnia Street differs from his classic throwbacks. Quite a large work, with its unique colours, catches the eye in a rather gloomy area.
KruK Maluje (Adam Wirski), Felsztyńskiego 50
These days some murals are created to promote local (but not only) businesses. We can’t run from it. One of such murals is a tiger painted by artist Adam Wirski. The mural is supposed to have some references to the company that sponsored it. There are also buildings from one of the Lodz tourist attractions and a part of a code. But the last thing should be confirmed by an IT specialist. 🙂
I am a fan of the situation where the artist has most of the freedom to choose the wall and the subject of the work (unfortunately, which happens not so often like in the past), but I know that there are some fans of this giant tiger in Lodz.
Paprocki Murale (Wiktor Paprocki and Pola Suchodolska), Tymienieckiego 22G
One of the larger murals painted in Lodz this year. What I like in this work is Ludwik Grohman – one of Lodz’s factory owners, thanks to whom the city’s development gained momentum. The mural itself is located in Grohman’s former 19th-century factory, now restored.
Besides the famous local entrepreneur, on the mural, you will find the personification of artificial intelligence in the form of a woman. It is supposed to be a symbol of the innovation in this specific location.
The colors also play a major role in the interpretation of the work. According to the mural’s co-author Pola Suchodolska, Ludwik Grohman is depicted in warm colors as a man looking hopefully into the future, while the android woman looks in her direction and is cool, blue, and mysterious. Threads are coming out of both characters that tangle, and the future is open.
The artists used only paintbrushes and silicate paints, which are weatherproof. They were working from July to the beginning of November. You can see the mural both from Fabryczna Street or after entering the Lodz Special Economic Zone from Tymienieckiego Street.
Yrwig, Pomorska 60
The mural is new, as is the community center that was created at this address. It’s all thanks to the Swim for a Dream foundation and the implementation of their project “We are sailing into wide waters.” Their goal is to increase the availability of daycare places for children and young people in need of support from Lodz. The author of the mural is Andrzej “Yrwig” Krupinski.
Maciej Walczak, Sierakowskiego 19
Two new murals were also painted in Bałuty – one of the districts in Lodz. I wrote about them in my guide to this neighborhood, which you can find HERE. What makes Maciek’s mural stand out? Among other things, the fact that the artist used anti-smog paints for it. Unfortunately, the photo I took is not perfect because of the renovation of the building.
Anka Leśniak, Zgierska 56
This art work was created in honor of Zula Pacanowska – the leader of the resistance movement in the Lodz ghetto, a pre-war communist knitter, and an actress. The font used in the installation was based on slogans from placards from contemporary women’s strikes. In the work, you will also find quotes from “Piesn o Lodzi”, the inscription “STRAJK” in Yiddish, the dates of her birth and death, and the order that Zula Pacanowska received posthumously, with the male figure changed into a female one.
More about this mural you can read HERE.
GOUDA WORKS, Pomorska 7
Advertising murals appear in Lodz, as in other cities. I don’t usually write about them, but here I will make an exception. It was painted by a Lodz-based artist GOUDA WORKS and you will find elements related to Lodz. Among them a factory, Manhattan (it has nothing common with New York. The estate of the first skyscrapers, which were built here, is called that way), Lodz House of Culture and Central Textile House (or as we like to say here – Lodz Palace of Culture and Science due to its similarity in appearance to the one in Warsaw). There is also one of the tenements of Piotrkowska Street. We can also find Plac Wolnosci sculptures of factory owners and one, talented poet and, of course, a unicorn from Piotrkowska Street.
The mural is an advert, but says a lot about Lodz!
Donut Studio, Kościuszki 48
The mural depicts a fragment of a poem by Julian Tuwim, who spent his early years in Lodz. The design is simple and modestly fits into the neighborhood. It was painted by artists from the Donut Studio in Wroclaw.
Good Looking Studio, al. Mickiewicza 90
It’s time for a mural that interestingly fits into the space around it, and at the same time refers to aviation in Lodz. Airplanes and Lodz? Well, I was also supervised when I heard that.
Anyway, we are talking about the mural from al. Mickiewicza. The sponsor of the mural – the insurance company – organized a competition for the mural’s project. The winner was the concept proposed by Good Looking Studio, which has already painted a few walls in Lodz.
Why an airplane? As we read on the website of the mural’s sponsor:
The first Polish central pilot training center was opened in Lodz in 1930, under the name of the Center for Military Aviation Training, headed by Franciszek Żwirka.
What I like most about this mural is how it has been integrated into its surroundings. It is a beautiful extension of the factory and only a good eye will find it. Even though it is not one of the smallest paintings.
Paulina Kwietniewska, ul. Sienkiewicza 137 (on the back wall)
Not only large-formatted murals were painted this year. One of the smaller artworks is Paulina Kwietniewska’s mural on the wall of a tiny dog park. The artist photographed the four-legged regulars and transferred them to the wall.
You may know Paulina from another mural in Lodz – Cocoa Plantation. Also created in cooperation with the Urban Forms Foundation.
Mural about Janek Mulinowicz by Klaudia Rutkowska, Rzgowska 242
Another mural is quite far from the city center and I must confess that I have not yet reached it. I’m talking about the mural telling the legend of Janek Mulinowicz who was an orphan from the Chojny area.
The artwork was created as part of the “𝐉𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐉𝐍𝐘” projects led by Urban Forms Foundation.
The author of the mural is Klaudia Rutkowska, a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lodz.
Faces of Literature. A project of the House of Literature in Lodz
Stasiuk, Gretkowska, Tuwim. You can come across the faces of these Polish authors on the Lodz walls because of the project “Faces of Literature. Lodz Graffiti Gallery” implemented by the House of Literature. Although it doesn’t have much in common with graffiti I know, the works are nice murals.
In 2024, two new writers joined the face of literature. The first you’ll find in Sienkiewicz Park on the elementary school building. It’s a mural in memory of Joanna Kulmowa, a poet and novelist from Lodz. The mural was designed by Katarzyna Zaremba. Maciej Kasprzyk helped her with transferring the design on the wall.
The second mural can be found a little bit further, but still on the same street. At 82/84 Sienkiewicza Street Klaudia Kiercz-Dlugołęcka painted an image of Witold Gombrowicz. The painting resembles doodling in a school notebook. Who didn’t draw during boring lessons? The quote on the wall comes from the writer’s novel Ferdydurke. It is not easy to read, even Polish people have problems understanding it.
Rejwach. The exhibition in the abandoned factory
Did you know that every year Ravekjavik, the electronic music festival, takes place in Lodz? Last year, as part of the festival, a street art exhibition was held, in which almost 50 artists were involved. The exhibition was curated by Maciej Walczak.
The exhibition took place on the site of the former textile mills at 52 Niciarniana St. Some of the works can still be found there. I wrote more about the exhibition HERE.
Independent Art
Besides the legal art like murals, there are a lot of new posters, stickers and my favourite signs. Below I’ve uploaded a couple that I managed to find.
Summary
From me, that’s it. I hope that I didn’t miss anything. If I missed something, be sure to let me know in the comments.
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If you ask me, this year was not bad. I’m glad that despite the difficulties and commercialization of street art, there happens to be an occasional gem like Nespoon or Boldaro II on the wall. For 2025 I wish Lodz more such murals!
So, what do you say? When are you coming for a walk in Lodz? 🙂
Karolajn
Part of Streets 