Thanks to annual street art festival Nuart, the Granite City has become one of the world’s top destinations for street art.
Alongside cities such as San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney, the Financial Times ranked Aberdeen among the world’s top six locations for street art.
It’s thanks to Nuart Aberdeen, the city’s annual street art festival which first launched in 2017.
Organised by Aberdeen Inspired, in partnership with Aberdeen City Council, Nuart has attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the region, as well as dozens of internationally-acclaimed artists.
Bahia Shehab and Niels Shoe Meulman were among those taking part in the 2024 event, alongside returning talents such as Hera and KMG.
With more than 60 works now located around Aberdeen, from huge murals to playful figures hidden around the city, here are 27 of the best Nuart Aberdeen murals from across the years.
17. Nuart Aberdeen 2021: Fanakapan
London-based graffiti artist Fanakapan has been creating art since the early 2000s. Self-taught, his art features subjects such as balloons using 3D effects to make work pop from the surface. His dynamic 2021 work floats across Aberdeen Health Village, and took more than 40 hours to complete. The artist also helped KMG with a bonus balloon on her mural the same year. | Brian Tallman
18. Nuart Aberdeen 2024: Hera
One half of duo Herakut, Hera returned to Aberdeen for the 2024 festival to create this sweeping mural which invites viewers to reclaim their imaginations. Welcoming visitors to the city from its location on the side of Union Point, it is now the only work of hers in the city following the demolition of Aberdeen Market. | Scotsman/National World
19. Nuart Aberdeen 2023: Tamara Alves
An artist who has also holds a Masters in Contemporary Artistic Practices for her “Public Activism in Urban Context” research, it’s easy to understand why Nuart would be keen to involve Portuguese artist and illustrator, Tamara Alves with this year's Rewilding theme. Her art is based on the idea that instincts are what define us, and she enjoys presenting feminine figures interacting with natural landscapes – something which her Skene Street mural also highlights. | Clarke Joss/clarkejossphotography.co.uk
20. Nuart Aberdeen 2022: Slim Safont
Titled “The Punishment”, Spanish artist Slim Safont’s striking mural is certainly among not just Nuart Aberdeen’s best, but the world, coming in at number 4 in Street Art Cities Best of 2022 list. Featuring a young schoolgirl writing lines on a chalkboard, Safont’s artwork represents the indoctrination mechanisms used from a young age to keep us under control and direct our lives towards pre-established models – with the lines reading “I will pay my taxes”. This standout artwork is in good company at Union Plaza, where it looms over pedestrians. | Doug Gillen