At the mere mention of the City of Vukovar, people are filled with a wide range of emotions. There are many images and associations passing before their eyes and through their minds when they hear the name of the Danube Giant.
In recent times, it has earned yet another epithet – “Art Port”. Apart from being Croatia’s largest river port, thanks to street art, Vukovar has also become the “Art Port”, putting it on par with the largest European cities, such as Berlin or London.
In case you did not know that maybe it is time to revisit Vukovar.
The entire city is a large canvas for famous street artists, who meet every year at the VukovArt Festival. Murals, 3D anamorphic art, and graffiti along walkways, facades, and streets… Vukovar has been revived and rejuvenated, more cheerful, modern, and beautiful than ever. It has become a large open-air gallery, where even those who have not admired this kind of art before can truly enjoy themselves.
In other words, what the historical baroque city center means to cultural tourism enthusiasts is what Vukovar’s street art represents to urban travelers. And, most importantly, they are not mutually exclusive, but rather complement each other perfectly.
For the fifth year in a row, Vukovar welcomes the street art’s biggest names from all around the world. Artists from Spain, Switzerland, Latvia, Germany, Russia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Mexico, and Croatia painted 10 new artworks during this year’s street art festival, making it a total of 33 artworks counting the previous 23. Considering the size of its population, this makes Vukovar an extremely popular street art location on a global level.
It all started back in 2016, when the only 3D artist in Croatia, Filip Mrvelj, painted the well-known 3D painting on the bridge over the Vuka River, giving Vukovar a modern character and a new prospect for the future.
Among the truly admirable artworks, it may be said that one particular mural stands out slightly from the others, especially due to its symbolism. A mural named “Ostajemo” (“We Stay”) was painted by the Spanish artists from the artist collective known as Boa Mistura. It consists of the word “OSTAJEMO”, with the letters overlapping to create a single image and numbers symbolically representing Vukovar’s population based on the most recent census from 2011. The idea behind the artwork is to represent the people who have experienced many troubles and hardships but stayed in Vukovar no matter what. This is the metaphor of Vukovar: strength, resistance, persistence, and above all, love.
Come and see for yourself. Set off for the art port, we are looking forward to seeing you!
Author: turizamvukovar.hr
