Ostend Street Art And Where To Find It
One of our favorite things is traveling to new cities and discovering some of the lesser know parts of these destinations as we wander through the side streets and alleys on the hunt for some of the amazing street artworks and murals that are often to be found if you chose to look for them.
Our love of street art has seen us travel to many of the city street art hotspots often associated with street art such as New York, Paris, Berlin, and Bristol but it has us led us to locations we might not have otherwise visited such as Marrakech, Marseille, Malaga, Grottaglie and Stavanger.
One such destination was the beautiful coastal Belgium city of Ostend, known as ‘The City by the Sea’. We had caught wind of a contemporary Belgian street art festival that was taking place in the city and set about making plans to visit.
We’ll be honest Ostend was not somewhere we had heard of prior to our visit but what with the all-star lineup of international and national artists descending on the city to create large-scale murals and installations, The Crystal Ship Festival has helped make the city a must-visit destination for street art enthusiasts around the globe.
Street Art in Ostend, Belgium
Artists wise the works you can expect to see on the walls of Ostend include the following who were invited to Ostend by The Crystal Ship Festival:
1010 (DE) - AGOSTINO IACURCI (IT) - CYRCLE (US) - DISORDERLINE (B) - ELIAN (AR) - ELLA & PITR (FR) - EVERSIEMPRE (AR) - Faith47 (SA) - FINTAN MAGEE (AU) - GUIDO VAN HELTEN (AU) - HERR SEELE (BE) - JAUNE (BE) - JAZ (AR) - LOCATELLI (B) - MISTER FIKSIT (BE) - NOIR (B) - ISAAC CORDAL (ES) - PIXELPANCHO (IT) - POL COSMO (BE) - ROBERT MONTGOMERY (UK) - ROA (B) - SIEGFRIED VYNCK (BE) - SMATES (BE) - ZIO ZIEGLER (US) - BROKEN FINGAZ CREW - ALEX SENNA
Have a look at some of what we found on our trip to Ostend, Belgium:
Belgian muralist ROA painted this large-scale monochromatic stack of sleeping / dead animals pictured above and includes a rabbit, a squirrel, a hedgehog, a mole a mouse. and an animal we can't quite identify, maybe a rat!
Street Art in Ostend, Belgium
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Artists wise the works you can expect to see on the walls of Ostend include the following who were invited to Ostend by The Crystal Ship Festival:1010 (DE) - AGOSTINO IACURCI (IT) - CYRCLE (US) - DISORDERLINE (B) - ELIAN (AR) - ELLA & PITR (FR) - EVERSIEMPRE (AR) - Faith47 (SA) - FINTAN MAGEE (AU) - GUIDO VAN HELTEN (AU) - HERR SEELE (BE) - JAUNE (BE) - JAZ (AR) - LOCATELLI (B) - MISTER FIKSIT (BE) - NOIR (B) - ISAAC CORDAL (ES) - PIXELPANCHO (IT) - POL COSMO (BE) - ROBERT MONTGOMERY (UK) - ROA (B) - SIEGFRIED VYNCK (BE) - SMATES (BE) - ZIO ZIEGLER (US) - BROKEN FINGAZ CREW - ALEX SENNA
Have a look at some of what we found on our trip to Ostend, Belgium:
Belgian muralist ROA painted this large-scale monochromatic stack of sleeping / dead animals pictured above and includes a rabbit, a squirrel, a hedgehog, a mole a mouse. and an animal we can't quite identify, maybe a rat!
The mural is located on Hofstraat, Ostend, Belgium.
Argentinean artist Elian's Crystal Ship Mural titled Exercise Of Anamorphosis #2 is located on Achturenplein, Ostend, Belgium.
Two of the local Belgian street artists installing works right across the city of Ostend were Jaune (Previously on Hookedblog) and Pol Cosmo.
Argentinean artist Elian's Crystal Ship Mural titled Exercise Of Anamorphosis #2 is located on Achturenplein, Ostend, Belgium.
Two of the local Belgian street artists installing works right across the city of Ostend were Jaune (Previously on Hookedblog) and Pol Cosmo.
This collaborative piece sees one of Jaune's multi-layer stenciled city workers along with Pol Cosmo's color-pasted-up creatures come together. This piece is located right next to the Elain piece pictured above on located on Achturenplein, Ostend, Belgium.
Another Belgian-based artist Isaac Cordal installed a series of miniature sculptures at various locations across the city. Many of these interventions are installed high above the streets so be sure to look up.
Another Belgian-based artist Isaac Cordal installed a series of miniature sculptures at various locations across the city. Many of these interventions are installed high above the streets so be sure to look up.
The eagle-eyed street art hunters are sure to spot some of these sculptures but for everyone else, we might suggest getting a copy of the map as there are nearly 30 different works to discover. Details on where to download/pick up a copy of the location map are listed at the end of the post.
The beautiful work of South African artist Faith47 can be found at Peter Benoitstraat 77, Ostend, Belgium.
Some additional works from Belgian street artist Pol Cosmo whose vibrant creatures can be found climbing the walls of the city so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them.
Large-scale work from Italian artist Agostino Iacurci based in Rome. His Ostend mural can be located at Generaal Jungbluthlaan 4, Ostend, Belgium.
Artist Siegfried Vynck was born in Ostend and this mural of his can be found at Zilverlaan 71, Ostend, Belgium. This mural is some distance from the city center so we suggest getting one of the city's trams out to the location or maybe hiring a bike and taking in all the murals as with many European cities there are plenty of bike lanes.
Inspired by the influences of Aboriginal and African art, American painter and sculptor Zio Ziegler based in San Francis painted this Ostend mural on Schaafstraat 29, Ostend, Belgium.
The beautiful work of South African artist Faith47 can be found at Peter Benoitstraat 77, Ostend, Belgium.
Some additional works from Belgian street artist Pol Cosmo whose vibrant creatures can be found climbing the walls of the city so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for them.
Large-scale work from Italian artist Agostino Iacurci based in Rome. His Ostend mural can be located at Generaal Jungbluthlaan 4, Ostend, Belgium.
Artist Siegfried Vynck was born in Ostend and this mural of his can be found at Zilverlaan 71, Ostend, Belgium. This mural is some distance from the city center so we suggest getting one of the city's trams out to the location or maybe hiring a bike and taking in all the murals as with many European cities there are plenty of bike lanes.
Inspired by the influences of Aboriginal and African art, American painter and sculptor Zio Ziegler based in San Francis painted this Ostend mural on Schaafstraat 29, Ostend, Belgium.
Born in Buenos Aires, artist JAZ painted this mural in Ostend inspired by Flemish artist James Ensor, a one-time Ostend resident. The JAZ mural is at Timmermanstraat 14, Ostend, Belgium.
The striking work of German street artist 1010 taking over several floors of this building can be seen at Prinses Stefanieplein 63, Ostend, Belgium.
Ostend Basics
The striking work of German street artist 1010 taking over several floors of this building can be seen at Prinses Stefanieplein 63, Ostend, Belgium.
Ostend Basics
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Getting to Ostend
The easiest way to travel to Ostend is by train, there is a regular service from Brussels-Midi/Zuid station with journey times on average 1h 20 mins. We traveled to Ostend from London on the Eurostar taking advantage of their Any Belgian station service.When booking your Eurostar tickets there is an option for Brussels only and another for ANY BELGIAN STATION which allows you to travel on the Eurostar to Brussels-Midi/Zuid station and onwards to any station in Belgium.
The Crystal Ship Festival
Following the success of the first edition of the Crystal Ship festival, in 2017 the city of Ostend has continued to host the festival each subsequent year with a whole host of new street art and mural works added to the outdoor collection to be found in the city.
Where to stay in Ostend, Belgium
We visited Ostend before the summer season started and as such there was a wide range of accommodation options to choose from. As we planned on staying for several days on our first visit we choose to book a seafront apartment on Airbnb located along the coast. For a more central location, we chose to stay at the Upstair Hotel on a subsequent visit to the city.As with any seaside destination accommodation during the summer season can be hard to come by so booking well in advance before you travel is well advised.
We have also created an Ostend Street Art Map on Google shared below.
Want more from Hookedblog, subscribe to our Hookedblog email list, and get street art posts directly to your inbox.
If you are on Pinterest why not follow some of our Hookedblog Street Art boards or share the love and pin our Ostend Street Art And Where To Find It post to one of your own Pinterest boards.
What Else to See & Do
A visit to the home of Flemish artist Jame Ensor should defiantly be on your list. After a visit to the artists' house the Mu. Zee is a must, it is the Art Museum by the Sea for Belgian art and where you will see amongst others some of James Ensor's work. A new wing of the museum opened in 2016 and features a superb collection from two masters of Ostend, James Ensor, and Léon Spilliaert.Where to find the best Ostend Street Art
The Crystal ship has created an Ostend street art map detailing all the locations of the murals and street art created around the city. You can stop by the Ostend Tourist Office and pick up a printed copy of the map.We have also created an Ostend Street Art Map on Google shared below.
Want more from Hookedblog, subscribe to our Hookedblog email list, and get street art posts directly to your inbox.
If you are on Pinterest why not follow some of our Hookedblog Street Art boards or share the love and pin our Ostend Street Art And Where To Find It post to one of your own Pinterest boards.
The Crystal Ship Festival
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Following the success of the first edition of the Crystal Ship festival, in 2017 the city of Ostend has continued to host the festival each subsequent year with a whole host of new street art and mural works added to the outdoor collection to be found in the city. For up-to-date info and upcoming editions of the festival, check out The Crystal Ship website or follow them on Instagram.
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