Walk This Way: 5 Amazing Street Art Works in The Hague
The Hague is a city in The Netherlands that has become popular with tourists because of its rich history and culture. The Hague, or Den Haag as it's known in Dutch, is the second largest city in The Netherlands. The streets of The Hague are home to many incredible street art pieces depicting life in The Hague through the decades. The following are some pictures from tours we offer that show off the best street art in The Hague.
What is street art?
Street art is made through the use of mixed media. Street Artists often work in three dimensions; painting graffiti, snapping photos to print on the streets, wheat pasting posters and even using sculpture and installation to depict their messages.
- It's what we call public art created outside of an established cultural institution like a museum or gallery
- We think street artists' guerrilla campaigning are heavily influenced by the society they live in at the time of creating them.
- The issue they want to portray often speaks of a social condition that makes it hard for people to be heard. There was, for example widespread unemployment during America's Great Depression which led artists like Diego Rivera and Jean Carlu to paint a mural of America's poor.
Our top 5 street art pieces in The Hague
There are 20,000 blue stripes!
The portrait of Sophia in Bagijnestraat was drawn with 20,000 blue lines by artist Gordon Meulman.
The name Bagijnenstraat originates from the nuns of St. Maria in Galilea, who came to live here in 1463 and lived until 1572. Begijnenhoven were, in essence, a safe haven for women. For many women this was a way at times of heavy female oppression to enjoy their own life independently. For this project, Meuleman elected to place her own modern-day guardian in the Bagijnestraat; watchful and nurturing as she looks over her street.
Street art The Hague: Cats everywhere!
Achterom is a side street between the Kettingstraat and the Passage. The City of Den Haag has refurbished Achterom with illumination, sod, and new pavement to make it more attractive. The Hague Street Art was asked to design street art that has humorous touch. This they did with success! The Street became colorful and cheerful Kattensteeg since 2020
Street artists Marilou Klapwijk, SOGO, Dünya Atay and Zesta&Page33 have developed their own recognizable styles by drawing cats. The scenes are linked up as one with creeping bars and a ball of wool. At least... as long as mice don't play tricks;)
Street art the Hague L7MATRIX - The one and only!
It's not a heron or rooster but an owl that has been welcomed as the newest addition to the Boomsluiterskade in The Hague.
The Hague Street Art, the municipality of The Hague and residents working together to put a splash of color on Boomsluiterskade 16. The well-known Brazilian graffiti artist L7Matrix flew in from South America, went to work painting, and the finished work was beautiful. Most his pieces are colorful tropical birds – so a dour owl seems like an odd choice!
The owl, which can now be seen on the facade of number 16, was chosen by all parties involved because it symbolizes protection and security. For some years The Hague has been plagued by a number of incidents in Boomsluiterskade related to prostitution; drug dealing and crime.
The work is composed of muted and bright colors that have been used to express the power of the owl. The owl's head has a dark tone whereas its wings and talons are an explosion of color.
L7Matrix pushes the boundaries of using spray cans and doesn't follow the strict rules of graffiti world, where straight lines and clearly defined frames are appreciated. They experiment not only with their paint cans but also with all other materials: They tape different brushes together and mix their colors by hand while on site. He is in the twilight zone between a modern day artist and other graffiti artists. His original work allows him to appeal to both his fans and critics. The residents of the Boomsluiterskade are very happy with the result. "Finally color on that ugly grey wall!"
How do i do street art myself?
You can do street art yourself too! In general, you would need to be careful about what you put up in a public space. The best way to do street art is to try it out and see if it's something you want to make a bigger effort for. A lot of people use street art to get their work seen by the public so they can potentially get more clients or recognition for what they do!
Street art in The Hague: Netflix mural
Declaring posters outdated and graffiti portraits 'in': Street art is being used more often to promote products or services. For example, we were approached a few months ago with the task of finding a place for an enormous portrait of Ellen Page to publicize the new Umbrella Academy series. Collin van der Sluijs partnered with Super-A to complete this task. Canadian actress Page is now staring down passersby on the Binckhorstlaan. She is one of the many headliners in The Umbrella Academy, which became available on Netflix for Dutch viewers earlier this week.
Street art The Hague: Karski en Beyond - Wegastraat
The front of the Stedin building in Wegastraat was painted by the Amsterdams-Hague duo Karski & Beyond. For their narrative mural, they drew inspiration from Viktor de Vries from Repro van de Kamp. Karski & Beyond show aspects of the past and present Binckhorst in their work. (Such as Mazda's that were sold there, the scrap yards and old factories) Aspects of the Binckhorst are also evident now (such as the hops used to produce beer). And hens are still a part of this area, as you can see in the bottom of the artwork. The hen is an attribute that can be found on many Binckhorstlaan facades, such as the ones belonging to Het Kanon and Repro van de Kamp.