Are you interested in the mural on the Telegraph's facade? Did you know that in Olomouc you have the opportunity to see many other murals in public space? We have selected for you street art works in the space of Envelopa and Bezručovy sady, which you can take as an idea for a Saturday afternoon recreational walk with an artistic experience.
The walk begins at the boiler room near the J.L. Fischer College dorms, where you'll encounter two murals created as part of the 2018 Street Art Festival (SAFE). On one side, you will see a portrait of a crying Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in an outline of the Czech Republic, with the artist ChemiS behind it. He chose the theme because of the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia, because Masaryk is a symbol of values such as democracy, honesty and truth, while the artist himself does not find these values in the contemporary world.
On the other side of the building you will discover a painting that was not originally planned. The Finnish artist Salla Ikonen came to Olomouc at her own expense and immortalized a stylized likeness of festival spokesperson Romana Junker on the wall in the style of Mucha's Art Nouveau, as she is a great admirer not only of Mucha but also of SAFE.
Just across the street, on the 17-metre-high front wall of the J.L. Fischer dormitory, is a 2019 mural by UK artist Wasp Elder, created to mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. The theme of the SAFE edition was freedom. The artist was inspired by Henri Matisse's painting The Dance and the mural symbolizes the peaceful nature and unity of the Velvet Revolution, as well as the balance and support we need to give each other. His figures do not have faces so that the primary idea of the painting is not lost, as a face can remind people of someone and they associate the work differently afterwards.
On the General Liberty's sidings is street art by Spanish artist Koctel Kahoolawe, which was created in the same year as SAFE, based on the same leitmotif of freedom. He also chose stylized figures, one with a heart on his palm and the other with a peace branch.
From the other side of the J.L. Fischer dorms, you can clear your throat at Doga Beer Hall while seeing outdoor and indoor painting at the hands of Chaoscompany (Dosy Doss and Vera Kopkova). Inside, you'll find a 2019 mural of a Great Dane surrounded by flowers, and on the exterior, a mural of a Bumblebee on a blue container in the children's corner, which they've adapted their chosen color palette to match. In addition to its appealing function for both children and adults, the mural draws attention to the fact that bumblebees are in steady decline due to climate change and other man-made causes.
You can then walk through the Rosarium and the Botanical Garden to Bezručovy Sady, where you will find another work at the entrance to the Civil Defence Shelter. It depicts T. G. Masaryk against the background of the Czech flag as a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia by Oliver Heller (aka Dalibor Vybíral). The art painting was created as part of the Olomouc Maypole 2018 and the artist was clear about the motif within the first minute of the commission, taking inspiration from the painting of Franz Kafka's face climbing out of the wall in Žižkov in Prague.
Text: Tereza Holoubková, Telegraph gallery
