Street Art Paris 13: Butte aux Cailles & the Mural Program

05/05/20

Did you know that Paris is home to some of the most exciting street art in Europe – even the world?

One of our favorite Street Art Paris district (by quantity and quality) is Paris 13. Traditionally a “grey neighborhood”, Paris 13 is today in continuous transformation. Its once characteristic ugly towers or streets without any charm are now highlighted thanks to street artists from around the world.

The great culprit of Paris 13 District’s transformation is its mayor, Jérome Coumet, and his team. The socialist at the head of Mairie Paris 13 since 2007 is especially interested in street art. With this spirit and enthusiasm, Paris 13 is using Street Art to heal its image and attract young people proposing them a cool neighborhood to live.

 

STREET ART PARIS 13 – MAIN LOCATIONS

Warning!  Unfortunately, Street Art is an ephemeral art. World in Paris spent 4 days between February 17 and May 17 tracking the artworks shown below. We consider this post up to date but some of the works proposed may be damaged or destroyed after some time.

Paris 13 is a big district with different areas and different moods. Fortunately for us, Street Artworks are concentrated in three main areas:

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Butte Aux Cailles

This calm and picturesque quarter combines pretty cobblestone lanes with interesting graffiti Street Art. A Street Art stroll around Butte aux Cailles is a very nice way to discover this quarter while following talented artists. Butte aux Cailles is also an excellent place also for a drink or a nice dinner, especially when the weather is good and you can sit outdoors.

 

The Fridges’ Walls (Les Murs des Frigos)

19 rue des Frigos 75013 Paris; M. Bibliothèque F. Mitterrand L14; Velib Station #13.016

This is a very special place. This huge hangar with many refrigerated rooms was built after the WWI to stock all the products transported by train from the countryside to Paris before going to the different Parisian markets. Abandoned since the sixties, in 1980 the SNCF (the French National railway company) rented out parts of the warehouse to artisans and artists. Today Les Frigos hosts 87 workshops in a very special atmosphere. The frigos’ external walls (but also inside) are covered with interesting graffiti street art.

READ MORE –  Street Art and Urban Art at Les Frigos Paris

 

The Giant Murals – The Mural Program

This is a new wave of art affecting people. Definitely not traditional art in the galleries but outside, where everybody can enjoy it. Paris 13 managed to attire famous street artists doing high-quality giant murals which cover some huge buildings without character. When street artists have the permission and don’t need to hide from the police they can do something really beautiful. They can take their time and make it great. And actually, that’s what happened in Paris 13 with the Mairie’s support.

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BEST STREET ART IN BUTTE AUX CAILLES

Closest Metro Stations: Corvissart, L6 or Tolbiac, L7

This quarter has a very charming countryside atmosphere. The street artworks here are small, a scale which fits very well to its narrow and winding lanes. The most famous street artists in Butte Aux Cailles are Miss Tic and Jef Aerosol, both French artists.

Miss Tic Street Art has literally invaded the quarter with her B&W graffiti, always expressing her ideas through poems and wordplay. What we like from Miss Tic is the sense of humor in her wordplay but if you don’t speak French maybe you will appreciate her work less.

• 1- Alerte à la bombe by Miss Tic – rue des Cinq-Diamants /rue Butte aux Cailles
• 2- Un homme peut en cacher un autre by Miss Tic – 30 rue des Cinq-Diamants
• 3- Je ne brise pas que les coeurs by Miss Tic – 27 rue des Cinq-Diamants

Jef Aerosol also works in B&W. He has created many portraits of famous people like Elvis or Gandhi but the main part of his work is dedicated to the anonymous people on the streets: musicians, beggars, children playing… It is very easy to recognize Jef Aerosol’s work because he always signs with red arrows.

• 4- La musique adoucit les murs by Jef Aerosol – 21 rue des Cinq-Diamants
• 5- Baisers by Zaira – 44 rue des Cinq-Diamants
• 6- Lézarts de la bièvre by Jana & JS – 2 rue de l’Espérance

BEST  GIANT MURALS IN PARIS 13

Closest Metro Stations: Nationale and Chevaleret, L6 /Porte d’Italie and Porte de Choisy, L7

Huge murals by famous street artists from all the world have invaded the biggest avenues in Paris 13 and now street art is part of the landscape.

Some people define Boulevard Vincent Auriol like the Champs Elysées of Street Art. Along this wide avenue crossed by the metro and its surroundings, it’s where you can find most of these giant murals. The cool thing about Boulevard Vincent Auriol is that the metro (L6) rides by so you can see these murals from different points of view. Other interesting murals are located between Avenue de Choisy and Avenue d’Italie.

The main authors of these giant murals are Sainer and M-City (Poland), Vhils (Portugal), Kislow (Ukrania) OBEY (US), Inti, Maher, and Aner, (Chile), Ethos (Brazil), ZED (Tunisia + Morocco) and Jana & JS (France-Germany). France is represented by Seth Street Art, Babs, Rero, SteW, and C215. C215 is one of our favorite French street artists, by the way. C215 ‘s work consists mainly of close up portraits of people usually forgotten by our society: beggars, homeless people, refugees, street kids . .. He also likes to feature cats and his daughter Nina, who become also a street artist. He has a very defined style and you can also recognize his work by his signature, a dice with C215 inside.

Boulevard Vincent Auriol DIY Walking Tour

This is just a selection of what you can see in this area. If you follow this walking tour you will find along your way other murals and graffiti, this area is full of nice surprises!

• A- Inti (Chile) – 81 Boulevard Vincent Auriol
• B- ? – 120 Boulevard Vincent Auriol
• C- C215 (France) – 141 Boulevard Vincent Auriol
• D- OBEY (US) – 93 rue Jeanne d’Arc
• E- Seth (France) – 110 rue Jeanne d’Arc
• F- Jana & JS (Germany and France) -110 rue Jeanne d’Arc
• G- Inti (Chile) – 13 rue Lahire

Avenue de Choisy /Avenue d’Italie DIY Walking Tour

• H- Inti (Chile) – 129 Avenue d’Italie
• I- Pantónio (Portugal) – Avenue de Choisy / Place de Vénétie
• J- Stew (France) – Place de Vénétie

OTHER INTERESTING STREET ART PARIS 13

The following artworks are located outside the above-mentioned areas but some of them are so beautiful that we could not finish this post without them. If you have some extra time, these cool graffiti and urban art are worth a detour.

• K- Seth – 2 rue Emile Deslandres; M. Les Gobelins, L7; Velib Station #13.005
• L- Danse de la fontaine émergente by Chen Zhen (China) – Place Augusta Holmes; M. Quai de la Gare, L6; Velib Station #13.020
• M- Blowin by c215 (France) – Entrance Hall Hospital Pitié – Salpêtrière, 83 Boulevard de l’hôpital; M. St Marcel, L5; Velib Station #13.103

Did you like the Street Art in Paris 13? Which street artwork /street artist you liked most?

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