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The capital is but a canvas | Street Art in Buenos Aires

The capital is but a canvas | Street Art in Buenos Aires

Last Updated on May 24, 2022

You don’t need to go on a tour to see amazing street art in Buenos Aires. Like pages from a comic book, the streets of the city host incredible images, from small, political stencils to gifted, large-scale paintings all over its walls.

Street Art in Buenos AiresWe admired the pieces and took tons of pictures for a couple of weeks before deciding to jump on a street art tour. Whether your trip is two days or two months, if you are a fan of street art, we recommend getting on this tour right away and here is why. First of all, the fact that there is a street art tour at all is great. In so many cities around the world we wish we knew more about the street artists, but admire from afar instead.
buenos aires street art palermoMore importantly, unlike appreciating art in a museum, street art doesn’t come with an explanation of the piece and a background of the artist, and just because you see a mind-blowing piece of art one day, doesn’t mean it will even still be there the next. It might be its ephemeral, intangible nature that attracts us or the jaw-dropping skill expressed on everyday surfaces with low-tech materials, usually under the cover of night.

buenos aires street art eyeHere in Buenos Aires, however, artists need not work in the dark, avoiding the police. Instead, for many reasons related to the recent economic crash in 2001 and a relaxed attitude throughout history about writing on walls in the city, street art and graffiti were not seen as criminal activity.
buenos aires street art sprayerThis is why Buenos Aires is home to intricate, two and three story pieces of urban art, created in the light of day over days, even weeks at a time. This was just one of the insights we were told by the non-profit and very cool Graffitimundo organization who has put together the tours.

buenos aires street art mao zedongFriends with the actual street artists themselves, this collective are super passionate about the work on the street and also supporting the scene in the city. Obviously, we loved the tour, which took us to beyond the central Palermo neighborhoods and out into pockets of the city most tourists wouldn’t just happen to see.
buenos aires street artWe spent a good half an hour circling an out-of-the-way bus depot, talking existentialism, graphic design and that there were actually three pieces by international street artists on that one block alone. There was plenty of walking through more popular areas of Palermo as well, but this was not a city tour with some graffiti info sprinkled in.
buenos aires street artWe talked urban art for three hours and still walked away feeling like not only did we understand the scene here better, but also Argentine history and culture as well. We may have also taken hundreds of pictures, a select few of which can be found below.

buenos aires street art post street bar
buenos aires street art elk
buenos aires street art with whale
buenos aires street art pig
buenos aires street art horse rider
Street Art in Buenos Aires Palermo
buenos aires street art and laundry
buenos aires street art wall

Graffitimundo Buenos Aires Street Art Tour:

  • Tours take place every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, starting at 3pm and lasting around 3 hours
  • The tour is partially walking, partially driving in a minibus through the neighborhoods of Palermo, Colegiales, Villa Crespo and Chacarita
  • Tours are available in Spanish and English
  • Price: US$20 per person

Check out the graffitimundo website for more information, private tours and bicycle tour, hidden wall tours and stencil workshops.

Want more street art? Check out our Flickr album with our favorite Buenos Aires street art!

 

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Monday 5th of May 2014

[…] we had enjoyed our street art tour in Buenos Aires so much, we have decided to hop on street art tours whenever we can. We did our research and found […]

Ayngelina

Monday 3rd of December 2012

You must meet Rick from Juanele! Tell him I sent you , you will love him.

Dani

Wednesday 5th of December 2012

Ayngelina - so funny that you mention him, we were just invited to a fundraiser for him by a mutual friend!!

Alex

Wednesday 28th of November 2012

This is stunning stunning stunning! The first city I've been to that is really identifiable by its street art is Reykjavik. I loved it, and want to see more now! This post is going in the "pro" column for visiting BA someday soon.

Jess

Wednesday 28th of November 2012

Hey Alex, well, that's a challenge now for me - how many posts can I write that go in your 'pro' column so you get down to BA soon! ;)

Fidel

Tuesday 27th of November 2012

If you see my Instagram, then you alrady know I am a huge fan of street art. I grew up in Jersey/NYC in the early 80's, so I was able to see a lot of great graf. Street art is still one of my favorite subjects. I've seen a few posts about BA street art. Yours is hiting it home; I gotta go there and do a street art tour. Excellent pics and information. How long have you been in SA? One minute I am following you in SE Asia, next, you're in South America :-) Happy travels!

Jess

Wednesday 28th of November 2012

Hey Fidel - ha, we have really been around the world this year! :) Man, Buenos Aires street art is so fascinating, because it was never criminalized here, so people get out during the day and create some amazing pieces of art. You'd end up blowing up your Instagram account with the all the pics you'd take down here. The coolest thing about the Graffitimundo tour was that even though it should feel ironic to be on a 'tour' of street art, it doesn't. For us, it felt almost like a relief, like FINALLY we got to know more information about these amazing artists. Can't wait to hear about your adventures if you ever get here...

Reas

Monday 26th of November 2012

I am really bummed I never made it onto one of their tours, but I recommend them to everyone! I did my own street art tours many times