Street art adds colour to Espoonlahti

The Kipparinmäki underpass near the Espoonlahti Swimming Hall was transformed into a colourful work of art in October, when a new mural was painted on the walls of the underpass. The mural depicting stylised faces was painted by young people from Espoo, Antti Heikonen, Martti Haanpää and Kasper Nygren, under the guidance of street art teacher Aleksi Tolonen.

The work was commissioned by the Espoonlahti Cultural Project of the City of Espoo’s Cultural Venues and Services, which develops cultural and event activities in the greater Espoonlahti area. The goal of the street art project was to bring art to the urban environment for the enjoyment of passers-by.

It was also important that the project highlight young people’s point of view.

“From the very beginning, the idea was that the young people could and should think up the theme of the work themselves,” Aleksi Tolonen says.

Visual art is a familiar hobby for the three young people, as they have been studying in the street art group at the Espoo School of Art, where Tolonen also teaches, for a few years now.

The young people planned the mural during the summer and decided on the subject together. In late summer, they went to practice graffiti techniques on Matinkylä’s graffiti wall. The art work on the underpass was also created with spray paints.

The mural has attracted positive attention among passers-by due to its light colours. The painting phase, however, also gained less positive attention.

“The police came by twice, but they finally believed us when we explained that we were doing graffiti with permission,” the young people say.

The Kipparinmäki underpass is located between the Espoonlahti Swimming Hall and the Lippulaiva Shopping Centre at Espoonlahdentie.