Haarlem, Aerdenhout, Heemstede

Cycling through beautiful and watery Haarlem is always quite pleasant, but if you cycle with the Street Art theme in mind, it really becomes a party. We picked out some special projects for you that you must have seen. But don't forget to look around very carefully the whole route in search of all those other hidden treasures in the city.

Street Art and Graffiti are both movements of Urban Art. Art that is legally or illegally part of the urban landscape. Public space is the artist's canvas, his studio and exhibition space. It invites his audience to think and brings the street scene to life.

Graffiti centres on the artist's alter ego or tag. In the second half of the 20th century, teenagers started leaving their tags, with spray cans, in New York City and then the rest of the world. Gradually, these tags grew into true works of art. According to Saïd Kinos, graffiti is about language, spreading out your letter combinations as much as possible. Yet, according to Saïd, the artistic complexity is above the meaning of the language.

Street Art is more about the images and the message the artist wants to proclaim. It is attainable art, often with humour and irony. Increasingly, these murals are legal and even commissioned. Sometimes by spray can, sometimes by brush or both. On this route, we mainly describe the legal works because they are more permanent in nature and the illegal ones can sometimes suddenly disappear (Contemporary Art). So pay particular attention to what other gems you can spot.

The first iconic Street Art artist is Keith Haring; his first world-famous mural dates back to 1982, when he appropriated the Bowery Wall in Houston as his canvas. In the decades that followed, other artists kept taking over the wall and the work became increasingly commercialised, as in the whole scene. Street Art artists are increasingly established and picked up by the mainstream art world. Dutch artists nowadays go all over the world to create their professional and increasingly high-quality murals, and conversely, there is also a lot here from artists from all over the world.

Enjoy this artistic route through Haarlem's cosy city centre and take the time to reflect on the messages the international artists want to give you!


This Premium cycling route was compiled by our editor: Désirée van Uffelen.