2023-10-14 04:00:00
The city of Mons, for several years, has positioned its tourism around urban art, or “street-art”. More and more frescoes are being placed on the city walls by artists, sometimes world-renowned, such as Eduardo Kobra. These works are now listed on a dedicated international application.
In the city of Mons, for several years, wall frescoes have flourished. Over the last two weeks, around twenty works are even being produced.
Street art is now a new tourist attraction, and for this, Mons is putting its hand in its pocket. The price of these frescoes vary according to the size and reputation of the artists, but also depending on the artistic character. It costs between 2000 and 20,000 euros per piece. Significant but justified expenses according to the city, which now uses a census application.
Referenced frescoes
For several days, the city has been managing this new heritage that it intends to highlight. These frescoes are planned for a minimum period of 5 years, agreements with the priorities of the buildings are signed and each of them is published on this global application, Street art cities. “All the frescoes are referenced: the old ones, the new ones in progress…”explains Natacha Vandenberghe, director of the Mons tourism office. “They are geolocated so it’s super easy to find them even for someone who doesn’t know the city.”
This application is an opportunity to bring together a community of amateurs but also to bring together a wider audience. “Young people, old people, families who have a lot of fun since it’s a very fun way to discover a city, school groups…” , continues Natacha Vandenberghe. And it works: that day, Parisian tourists are visiting Mons and seem won over: “It’s magnificent, it adds something extra in terms of tourism,” comments one of them.
To date, around a hundred Mons frescoes are listed in the application. The city of Mons aims to become the Walloon and even Belgian capital of street art…
International artists
Meeting with Kobra, one of the stars invited to paint on the walls of Mons. His monumental work, entitled “The Tower of Knowledge” covers the wall of a school. Here he mixed historical elements of the city, such as the belfry, with a message dedicated to the students. “Books are what elevate us, what makes us grow”underlines Kobra. “We can learn and grow from them, it makes us wiser.”
Originally from Brazil, Kobra has created frescoes all over the world, New York, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, but it is in Mons that he has been working non-stop for a week on a 200 m2 wall. Far from the big cities, he leaves his mark on his style, and for him, the pleasure is definitely present. “This city is cultural but historical, there is this incredible architecture, I am very proud because here there is contrast, I mix art and history…”
Louis, aka 3TT Man, an artist from Lille now known internationally, is also at work on a wall of more than 400 m2
worldwide. For dozens of hours, he has been reproducing one of his pieces. “Before marking my drawing, I make a grid on the wall which allows me to reproduce my little A4 paper identically on the 40 meter high wall”he explains, from the top of his crane.
In the streets of Mons, therefore, street art works follow one another and are to be observed without moderation.
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