Estonia’s Street Art Capital: Urban Art & The Tartu Graffiti Scene (+ Street Art Map)

Planning to visit Estonia’s street art capital? Discover how the Tartu graffiti scene evolved into a thriving urban art festival in the country’s second-largest city.  

Situated 186 kilometres (116 miles) southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, you’ll find the second largest city of Estonia, Tartu. 

Not only is it home to the nation’s oldest and most established University, but it’s also the hub of Estonian street art. The Tartu graffiti and urban art scene is booming.

During my trip to the Baltic States, I stopped off for a couple of days to explore the street art of Tartu. I can tell you – I was not disappointed! 

Estonia’s Street Art Capital

I’ve always been a fan of street art – and have always been surrounded by it. My home town of Bristol, UK boasts a thriving graffiti scene as well as probably one of the most famous street artists, Banksy. 

I love seeing how other cities rival my home town in terms of urban artwork. The Tartu street art scene certainly gives my beloved Bristol a run for its money!

Similarly, there is a range of street-art styles too, some are playful and others are political or based on satire. You’ll find some created from stencils, some are lifelike, and others are cartoonish. Sometimes tiny, other times are giant murals. The street art in Tartu is diverse.

Graffiti vs. Street Art and Muralism

Often these three terms get interchanged, and bundled under the same thing, sometimes, they can fall under all three categories. However, they are three different art movements in the urban space. 

• Graffiti is usually illegal and involves the unauthorized marking of public space by either an individual or a group. The style can range from basic tagging to thought-provoking and visually beautiful pieces.

• Street Art covers any type of artwork that is created in a public space. Sometimes it’s created with permission, and other times, unofficially. 

• A mural is a piece of graphic artwork that is painted directly on a wall or ceiling. Again, these can be legally created or created without permission. 

Origins of Tartu Graffiti Scene

In Estonia, graffiti is actually illegal. However, it became so prevalent in Tartu, with numerous thought-provoking and aesthetically pleasing pieces, that things started to change.

Considering urban artwork is prohibited by the law in the country, the local city council actually encourage it in Tartu! 

So much so, that in 2013 Edward von Longus (one of the founders of the movement here) was presented with a cultural award for his technically illegal pieces of street art. 

Why Is Tartu Called the Capital of Estonian Street Art?

Despite street graffiti being an illegal activity in Estonia, Tartu plays host to the Stencibility Festival. The annual street art festival held each year in the city has just celebrated its 13 anniversary.

The festival consists of various local and international artists producing work in urban spaces around Tartu.

The locations of these spaces are kept a secret until after the festival to protect the identity of the artists working on them. To coincide with the festival, various workshops, tours and talks take place at the same time. 

With a local government promoting and encouraging urban art in Estonia, it’s easy to see how Tartu has become the nation’s street art capital.

At the time of writing the original version of this article (Oct 2019), as part of the Stencibility festival, the organisers introduced Europe’s largest sticker exhibition called SLÄP! This travelling exhibition featured over 11,000 stickers from over 250 artists representing 30 countries who literally stamped their mark on a van.

The SLÄP! exhibition van then set out to 11 different cities across Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany. I coincidently caught up with the van while it was in the town of Parnu in Estonia. It was there one day and then gone the next. 

Where to Find Tartu Street Art?

The single-word answer; Everywhere! 

You won’t have to walk far or look too hard to find street art in Tartu, it adorns nearly every doorway, bridge, wall, abandoned building, power box and archway imaginable. 

At first glance, I walked over a piece of artwork on the road. When I was standing next to it, I didn’t see the faces. It was not until I crossed the road and looked back at it, that I realised that it was a group of people. A very clever piece of urban art in Tartu.

When you’re walking about the city, don’t forget to look up, down and back over your shoulder. You’ll be surprised by how much you can see. 

Naturally, urban art is constantly evolving, some of the graffiti in Tartu has been painted or tagged over, what’s there today isn’t guaranteed to be there tomorrow, but that’s part of the excitement of going to see Estonia’s street art capital – you never quite know what you will stumble upon.  

The Street Art of Tartu – ‘Freedom Gallery’

Under every bridge crossing of the River Emajogi in Tartu, you’ll find hundreds of pieces of street art. Here, Tartu graffiti, stickers and giant murals, seamlessly blend together. You’ll find plenty of smaller stencilled pieces.

Follow Stencibility on Facebook to get the latest news as well as information on a tour of street art in Tartu.

Murals in Tartu

If there is a blank wall in Tartu, you can be sure that before long it will be donning a piece of artwork or a beautiful mural. 

The Tartu street art scene is accepted by the local government as well as the residents. Tartu graffiti has given the city an identity. Along with the university, there is a cultural vibe throughout with tons of hipster cafes, bars and small independent artsy shops. It’s certainly a city with a lot of charm.

Edward von Longus Stencil Work in Tartu

Known as Estonia’s answer to Banksy, due to the use of stencils in his work, the Tartu-based street artist also draws parallels in his topic of work which provokes and highlights political and social problems.

Like any reputable graffiti artist, Edward von Lõngus keeps his identity hidden. Some say he’s a single person operating under an alias or a fictional character, and others say a group of people acting under one name. Who knows?!

His iconic style of work can be characterised by his signature EvL stamp (seen on the bottom corner of the coat in the picture above). His work can be found all over Tartu as well as internationally including Berlin, Riga and London.

Tartu Street Art on Electricity Boxes & Residential Areas

Wandering about in the neighbourhoods just outside of the main city of Tartu, you will find pieces of urban art everywhere. In particular, the electricity boxes, shed walls and people’s houses have all had the blessing of the local street artists.

The urban art gallery of Tartu is certainly worthwhile exploring beyond the centre. I spent a whole afternoon walking around the nearby residential areas, in reality, it’s not far by foot, but there were so many beautiful pieces to look at, that it took a few hours to do it justice.

Even the back of the garage hasn’t been spared from having a beautiful piece of artwork – the whole city of Tartu is an urban art gallery.

Tartu Street Art Map

As I mentioned at the start of this article – mostly likely, what you’ll find today is probably very different to the works I saw. 

By no means is this street art map of Tartu exhaustive. Even when I visited, the map I was using had changed quite a bit – some bits had been removed, as well as lots of pieces I discovered weren’t on the map I was using.

Despite the Tartu graffiti scene constantly changing, the map still provides a good starting point. 

It’s a good reason to go back one day and find out how much has evolved!

Street Art in Tartu – FAQs

Are you still curious about the vibrant and colourful street art that adorns the walls of Tartu? Here are some answers to frequently asked questions that may help you make this enchanting trip memorable!

Ready to Discover Tartu: Graffiti or Street Art – What Do You Think?

If you are travelling in the Baltic States or are in the capital of Tallinn for a few days, it’s certainly worthwhile taking a trip to this vibrant second city to explore the street art in Tartu.

From murals to stickers, from stencils to sculptures – Tartu street art is truly diverse and vibrant. There are hundreds of pieces all over the city and certainly should be on any urban art lover’s bucket list. 

If you are looking for a unique and artistic experience, don’t miss the chance to discover Tartu’s street art scene!

Looking for more tips on where to visit in the Baltic States, then read more inspirational articles here…

• 23 Unmissable Things To Do In The Baltics
• Where to See Art Nouveau in Riga, Latvia
• 33 Amazing Things To Do in Tallinn, Estonia
• Riga 3 Days Itinerary
• Visiting an Abandoned Amusement Park in Elektrenai, Lithuania

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