The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Graffiti artist El Rughi, in Dundee on a cultural exchange from Barcelona, spray-paints a ‘free wall’.
Fresh look for Mary Ann Lane thanks to artistic exchange scheme and street art competition
The work of an artist based in Barcelona now adorns neglected public spaces in Dundee as part of a cultural exchange.
Italian artist El Rughi travelled to the city on Friday to work on the designated free wall on Mary Ann Lane.
The artist, whose real name is Riccardo Micoli, also painted a shutter at the Keiller shopping centre car park before flying back to Spain on Sunday.
That piece included Japanese robots, in the artist’s colourful and surreal style.
He flew to Dundee after winning Wallspot’s European street art competition, Travel the Wall.
Over the course of the same weekend, local artist Craig Crawford who won the Dundee competition, held on Mary Ann Lane, travelled to Barcelona to bring his own style to the Spanish city.
The competition saw artists from Barcelona, Dundee and Parma compete on their respective ‘free walls’ for the chance to win a trip to one of the other cities.
Russell Pepper, a PHD student and founder of Openclose, which has seen neglected spaces in the city transformed by local artists, said: “It was really good. It was a totally different style to what we usually see here.
“It was more psychedelic and crazy. He drew some of it freehand, not really planning what he was doing beforehand.
“Hotel Indigo were very welcoming to give him a room and the flights were paid for as part of the competition so it was a free trip – apart from any drink he wanted to buy at night, of course.
“He said it was nice to come to Dundee. He probably wouldn’t have thought to come here but because of this he came here and said he liked it.
“Hopefully they could do some more exchanges like this.
“This is a fantastic cultural exchange and a great chance for artists to soak up the culture and street art in their cities, whilst bringing some of their knowledge too.”
Meanwhile, a planned public mural – set to be one of the city’s largest – will now not be painted until the spring.
The Stobswell artwork, which is being supported by V&A Dundee, is to be created on the gable end of a four-storey building on Cardean Street.
It was hoped the painting, the design of which is being kept under wraps for the time being, would be completed around the time the museum opened.
However, the plan hit various snags and is now scheduled for when better weather arrives in April.
This is a fantastic cultural exchange and a great chance for artists to soak up the culture and street art in their cities, whilst bringing some of their knowledge too. RUSSELL PEPPER