Thanks to their vibrant colors and thought-provoking messages, Tirana’s murals are giving some of the capital’s worn-out façades new life and are making a museum out of the city.

A bit of background

From the early 2000s, Tirana has been undergoing a steady metamorphosis. Its beginnings were marked by the colorful facades of the buildings, which breathed new life into the city. Afterward, this trend was continued by countless street artists who have given the capital a more interesting and updated face. As usual with graffiti, a rebellious, both playful and serious, art form, the images portray fragments of life. They also include contemporary takes on Albanian history and tradition, as well as present social issues and concerns.

MurAl Fest, a yearly event organized by the city’s municipality under the name Dekor Tirana, in cooperation with 167 Bstreet (the Italian urban art lab), has enabled the recent change of numerous facades of the capital’s buildings. In just over 2 years, Tirana has welcomed more than 30 artists, both local and international, who have revived the city’s neighborhoods with their socially-conscious messages and striking images. Below, we give you our selection of the capital’s best murals.

1. “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Bifido

The popular “Girls just wanna have fun” is the work of Italian artist Bifido. Voted as Best Mural of 2018 by Wildwalls, you will find it at Qyteti Studenti. Its title plays homage to the famous Cindy Lauper song of the same title. However, the young girl depicted here is not only having fun but appears extremely hesitant and intimidated to make her way into the world. Click here for its location.

2. “Spiderman/I have to go” by Flavio Solo & Diamond

The work of Italian artists Flavio Solo & Diamond, is a new and disillusioned take on Spiderman. The mural shows the superhero engulfed in the frenetic life of modern times, like the rest of us. His words, “I have to go,” are enough to suggest that these days, no one has time to look over anybody. Click here for its location.

3. “Poisoned Earth” (Tokë e helmuar) by Franko Dine

Albanian artist Franko Dine counts the highest numbers of murals in the capital. His works reveals his environmental concerns: excessive pollution as not only a local but global threat. Click here for its location.

4. “The touch” (Prekja)  by Ardit Boriçi

This work, by Albanian artist Ardit Boriçi, is a graphic, contemporary take on an iconographic portrait of a woman. The modern saint stands in front of a halo, which resembles a flower, while the rays shooting out of it are in technicolor.  Click here for its location.

5. “Kathmandu Girl” by Stinkfish

“Kathmandu Girl” is another technicolor mural that tops our list. This one, from Columbian artist Stinkfish, is located near Wilson Square. The vibrant work depicts the dreams and aspirations of the new global generation via the illustration of a young, bright-eyed girl who still holds tightly to her roots. Click here for its location.

6. “Mother” (Nënë) by Theic Licuado

Located in Komuna e Parisit, this giant mural immediately catches your attention. Realized by Uruguayan artist Theic Licuado, the mother figure in this work seems to be suspended in space. Her calm yet preoccupied demeanor as she ties a ribbon seems to symbolize the role of a woman as the one who keeps it all together. Click here for its location.

7. “Lucille in Albanie” by Mabel Vicentef

Argentinian female artist Mabel Vicentef’s mural entitled “Lucille in Albanie” is a heartfelt illustration of how landscapes become permanent parts of us. Our bodies and minds are shaped by experiences and memories which we carry with us into the rest of our lives. Slightly melancholy, a bit childlike, this mural is beautifully executed. Click here for its location.

8. “Unity and Diversity” (Unitet dhe Diversitet) by Yann Lazoo

Located near the Grand Park of Tirana is one of French artist Yann Lazoo’s fascinating works. The title beautifully reflects the depiction of the world as joined and separate, as earth and sky, as warm and cold, as linear and circular, all contained within a limited space, the façade of a building. All these visual contrasts serve to underline that unity and diversity can, and do, co-exist in harmony. Click here for its location.

9. “Don’t judge” (Mos gjyko) by Artez

This mural by Serbian artist Artez covers the façade of a residential building in Myslym Shyri, one of Tirana’s main streets. The image depicts a person lifting a locked bike, suggesting that he may have stolen it. However, he has simply forgotten the key, a detail which is visible in one of the windows. Click here for its location.

10. “Sister Tone” (Motra Tone) by Harriet Wood

Along the busy Elbasan Street, Harriet Wood, an English artist, has offered her updated version of “Motra Tone,” (Sister Tone), the iconic painting by the renowned Albanian painter, Kol Idromeno. The Albanian maiden, dressed in traditional costume, is now equipped with earphones while her thoughts take the shape of chat clouds. A clever take on globalization and digital reality. Click here for its location.

11. “The meeting” (Takimi) by Davide DPA

The mural, dedicated to well-known Albanian author and poet, Petro Marko, is the work of Italian artist Davide DPA. “The Meeting” decorates the side of Marko’s former residence, a yellow building along the capital’s main boulevard. Surrounding the blood-red, iris-shaped painted space, is a short expert from Marko’s following lines:

“How difficult it is to make it into another’s heart, another’s head! If it was all written on people’s eyes and faces, their thoughts, souls, works, aims, then the world would have taken a different turn. But, so many faces are like the night…and who can ever know what the night veils, what it conceals.”

Click here for its location.

For a detailed map of the capital’s murals, please click here