Graffiti & street art in Rotterdam, from the past to the present

One of the best places in the Netherlands to spot street art and graffiti is undoubtedly Rotterdam . While Heerlen claims to be the 'mural capital' of the Netherlands, Amsterdam takes care of the necessary 'street art and graffiti fix', and Utrecht is a large open-air museum, Rotterdam is working hard to unite all these characteristics and perhaps even surpass them.

The contemporary street scene of Rotterdam is remarkably varied and colourful. With dozens of municipal murals (murals) and many examples of illegal graffiti that compete for attention, especially along the railway, the metro tunnels and the highway. Read in this blog article more about the history of graffiti and street art in Rotterdam.

Rotterdam is a public museum that you don't have to pay for. The collection consists of a strong tradition of cross-border free street art and street art murals of an international level.

A piece of Rotterdam street art history

The first examples of street art and graffiti to appear in the Rotterdam streetscape emerged from the punk movement in the 70s. This scene centered primarily around the punk band 'Rondos', founded by a group of students from the Rotterdam Academy of Fine Arts . They rejected traditional techniques such as drawing, etching, and painting, and replaced them with painted slogans on the city's walls.

In addition, they used homemade stencils in the shape of a rat, a small tank, or a hammer and sickle, neatly cut from cardboard and sprayed onto the walls. They were small and reserved, yet present in large numbers in the streetscape, and due to the precision of the technique, it looked somewhat official and dignified. A little later, the rat even got its own comic strip – 'Red Rat', the nickname of the cartoonist and singer of the punk band.

It is, of course, no coincidence that the rat is a popular animal to depict in street art and graffiti culture (think of Dr. Rat, Blek le Rat, Banksy, and even Mikki Waus): apart from the fact that the rat was a popular pet in the punk scene, the little creature symbolizes the street and everyone who feels rejected by society. And to quote Banksy: 'A rat exists without permission'.

The Chilean (painter) brigade

During the same period, the ' Chilean Column ' was erected in Rotterdam for refugees of the Chilean junta (military dictatorship). The 10-meter-high structure stood on the square near the entrance to Central Station from 1975 through 1984/85 and served as a 'communication column'. Large, colorful murals and socially engaged texts such as 'Junta gone' and 'Chile free' adorned the surface and attracted the attention of passersby.

Artist Jorge 'Kata' Nuñez also fled the regime. In 1979, he founded a painters' brigade in Rotterdam that created politically engaged murals throughout the Netherlands: 'We communicated through our art; it was an ideal outlet.' Most of the brigade's work has since disappeared, and around 1990, the column was also removed by the municipality.

Fortunately, however, there are still murals by Kata Nuñez to be seen in the city. For instance, you can admire the mural 'El Trotamundos' (the world traveler) from 2007 on Zwartepaardenstraat in the Cool district. And anyone who looks closely and is aware of the art-historical background will see that the mural refers back to the paintings on the famous Chilean column. In 2018, Kata, who returned to his homeland in 2012, restored the mural during a visit to Rotterdam, making the work look as good as new again.

80s – the start of graffiti culture in Europe

In the early 80s, graffiti also began to appear in the city from a completely different angle. Through the emerging hip-hop culture, Rotterdam was introduced to another form of outdoor art. Remarkably, the new impetus from this direction was supported not only by the underground but almost immediately by the establishment as well.

For instance, in 1982, the Municipality of Rotterdam itself brought the graffiti artist 'LEE' ( Lee George Quinones ) to Rotterdam to create a mural on the Lijnbaan as part of Townpainting (a program established in 1974 by the Rotterdam Art Foundation to beautify the city). Around the same time, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen also acquired works by Jean Michel Basquiat, Seen, and Dondi, and Gallery Black Cat was already exhibiting work by Keith Haring.

The 'Piece by Lee' is now even regarded as the first public expression from hip-hop and graffiti culture in Europe. Besides this piece, Lee is known among graffiti enthusiasts for his role in the now-legendary film 'Wild Style', in which he plays one of the lead roles alongside Lady Pink.

The early works of the Americans in the Netherlands are interesting for history, but what about the local artists? For example, who in Rotterdam belong to the graffiti writers from the very beginning and how has the scene developed further after the 80s?

The transformation from graffiti to street art

Rotterdam has therefore been involved in traditional graffiti right from the very beginning, and many handstyle artists remain active to this day. CES53 is one such writer from the early days. His vast oeuvre consists largely of Rotterdam-based work, but this artist has also made a name for himself internationally. For instance, he was one of the first graffiti artists to paint trains in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.

As a young boy, he was inspired by what he saw on American television channels. When he eventually ended up in Rotterdam and saw examples from the punk scene on the walls, it was a small step for him to pick up a felt-tip pen and join in. After watching the documentary Style Wars , he adjusted his formats and materials and began spray-painting larger works. Work that can be admired to this day.

Another writer who was an early adopter in Rotterdam is TIME. While some immortalize their 'legacy' in a tangible book, TIME (Bad Boyz Inc.) has gone down in the proverbial books as a graffiti artist from the very beginning. And he never stopped.

If the essence of graffiti is the demarcation of territory, TIME has succeeded in doing so in Rotterdam to the fullest: not only is it ubiquitous, but it has been so continuously since the beginning. He thus fully embodies the drive and mindset of graffiti culture.

Until recently, you could still read his name on the now-demolished Correct building. This beautiful building had stood empty for years and displayed a fine collection of styles and skills by various graffiti and street art artists from the Rotterdam scene.

The number of now internationally recognized 'names' from Rotterdam is considerable. Street art artists such as Bier en Brood, Telmo Miel, Nina Valkhoff, Tymon de Laat, Ox-Alien, the aforementioned Ces53, Edo Rath, Daan Botlek, Mr. June, Said Kinos, Danny Rumbl, and Eelco van de Berg enjoy great national and international acclaim.

A key figure in the Rotterdam scene is Rotterdamgraffiti010 , who started writing in the tram tunnels of Rotterdam Zuid in 1989. He still paints, but nowadays makes himself heard mainly as a collector of work by (local) street art and graffiti artists in Rotterdam on Instagram.

He recently played a role during the BEST KEPT SECRET graffiti jam at the demolition building next to Rotterdam South train station. That building, at Rosestraat 1001, looks like a remnant of a forgotten time, taken over by a storm of artists anonymous to outsiders, just as the participants in the jam wanted it.

Street art agencies and art platforms

The city is also not short of project agencies, street art-related organizations, and art platforms. Think, for example, of the contemporary art platform Opperclaes, the CBK, Maison Savant, and HipHop In Je Smoel. The latter organization champions the Rotterdam street art and graffiti scene with Rewriters and also organizes the annual street art festival POW! WOW! Rotterdam . Every year, the city bursts with new street art, ranging from cheerful and colorful to bold and provocative.

Many street art murals are located in less privileged parts of the city, on the gable ends of terraced houses, such as 'Wolf is schaapskleren' by Nils Westergard (Nilsvra), created in 2021 in Zuid. Or on walls temporarily exposed due to demolition work, such as the painting by Telmo Miel and Sebas Velasco from 2017 on Hartenruststraat. This gigantic mural will soon no longer be visible due to urban development in the Oude Noorden.

In the newly developing M4H area, too, street art in Rotterdam has been deployed as a 'neighborhood improver'. During the first POW! WOW! in 2018, various buildings and warehouses in the old, dilapidated harbor area were adorned with art. You can still view the enormous murals from that time, including the collaboration between artists Dopie.dsk and its.Narda on the harbor quay of Marconistraat. The gigantic fish blend beautifully into the surroundings and are executed in the characteristic, powerful Dopie color palette.

The fact that street art and murals are used to give a neighborhood or district a cultural boost is, incidentally, nothing new. This form of city marketing has been successfully applied worldwide in recent years. Street art can be used to improve the neighborhood in many ways, for example by turning transformer substations and electrical cabinets into works of art. Read more here about the possibilities of street art on transformer substations.

During the 2021 edition of POW! WOW! Rotterdam , Rotterdam's purveyor of extraterrestrial art, Ox-Alien, created his largest solo work to date. This time, not in his signature pink color, with an eye toward the natural colors of the surroundings. The fact that his work does not always have to be large to catch the eye is evident in many places throughout the city. In the Oude Noorden, he has left several works on wooden paneling, including a pair of simply executed wacky eyes on the Bergweg.

That is how Ox-Alien initially started out as well, when he worked at home on wooden panels under the name P. Bloem, which he subsequently nailed down in various locations throughout the city. Ox-Alien is part of the Lastplak collective , founded in 2001 , a diverse group consisting of street art artists, writers, and designers. The collaboration between these personalities, each with their own style and personas, results time and again in a lively 'gang' of color and visual craziness with a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor.

Street art 2.0 – digitization

In Rotterdam you will come across all forms of street art, and since the beginning of 2021 also a digital form. A good example of how street art continues to develop are the animations, videos and illustrations that were shown during the HIJSLights project on the walls of the Santos warehouse and on the Paul Krugerstraat.

The multidisciplinary works – including that of young audiovisual artist Wes Broersen and graphic designer Mister Adam (Adam Oostenbrink) in collaboration with Jurriaan Hos – were visible via projections and screens for several hours from early dusk as a modern form of Rotterdam street art.

In Adam and Hos' motion graphics, the text 'yeah' spun around like a 'pin', but still remained legible because of the design and the letters – a play with form and text. With Wes it is all about a combination of moving images and sound, in which it is special that he takes care of the design as well as the software and audio part.

Street Art in Rotterdam, the conclusion…

In the current streetscape of Rotterdam, the regulated form of street art is fully present. Artists from home and abroad use color and figuration to give newly developing neighborhoods and disadvantaged areas the desired impetus to further develop. The idea behind this is that these murals and wall paintings make the neighborhood (temporarily) more vibrant and foster connection between residents, generations, and cultures.

In addition, there is the organically created art. This movement does not require permission and revolves entirely around the autonomous expression of the artist. She sees the walls of the city not as municipal property, but as a canvas for everyone. The writers work anonymously, quickly, strictly, outside office hours and will never conform to the tolerance areas designated by the municipality.

You could say that Rotterdam is a street art museum you don't have to pay for. The collection: a powerful tradition of transgressive free street art, colorful street art murals , and municipal policy.

If you visit Rotterdam, chances are you will come across street art in a shop, restaurant, café, club, or hotel. More and more hospitality venues are discovering the power of street art and how it can contribute to the atmosphere, experience, and character of the location. Read more about street art in the hospitality industry, such as in restaurants, clubs, hotels, and shops.

Not yet finished reading about street art? Check out this one too blog messages: The murals of Heerlen as a large open-air museum, The origin of graffiti in Amsterdam of Street art in the neighborhoods of Utrecht.

Would you like to know more about graffiti and street art?

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