14 street artists from 6 countries descended upon Estonia´s second city, Tartu, last month for the 10th anniversary of one of Europe’s longest running street art festivals, Stencibility. Over the course of five days site-specific artworks were supplemented by a satellite program of events including artist talks, workshops and the launch of the 2nd issue of the Tartu Street Art zine. Spanning the spectrum of street art from graffiti to illustration, this year’s line-up included established names such as Poland´s Michal ‘SEPE’ Wrega alongside a host of emerging talent from across Eastern Europe.
As part of the festivals effort to bring more awareness to different forms of expression within street art, Stencibility 2019 also presented Europe´s largest ever sticker exhibition, SLÄP!, in recognition of one of street art´s most enduring and underappreciated art forms. Featuring over 11,000 stickers by more than 250 artists from 30 countries, SLÄP! showcases the Stencibility ethos in microcosm.
Anarcho-street art
Founded in 2009, Stencibility focuses on providing a platform for non-muralists and emerging street artists. Over the past decade, the festival has carved out an international reputation for supporting independent street art in an era increasingly dominated by large-scale mural events, with co-organisers Sirla and Kadri actively encouraging artists to produce both sanctioned and unsanctioned street art within the festival framework.
With a philosophy based on creating strictly human-scale artworks – so no lifts or scaffolds – and an overarching sense of organised chaos, Stencibility is the kind of festival where artists get busted for bombing at 4am and are back on their wall at 10am; where the DIY, analogue and community-building spirit that gave street art its original potency is as important as the technologies and trends that have gradually come to replace them.
This year’s festival also gives birth to the term anarcho-street art, which takes its inspiration from the anarcho-punk movement before it and attempts to reclaim street art´s anti-establishment origins.
The festival´s ´human-scale´ rule forces artists to get creative in order to access harder-to-reach spots with ladders, poles and even car roofs all being made use of. Latvian´s Lazy Bra and Zahars Ze formed a prodigious partnership with Bulgarian graffiti writer Glow to transform numerous buildings, including one side of a derelict, Soviet-era restaurant. Elsewhere, illustrators Krõõt Kukkur (from Tallinn) and Maari Soekov (from Tartu) were welcomed by a local kindergarten, while hidden away in the grounds of an industrial estate Tartuvians will now find two larger walls by SEPE and fellow countryman Someart.
Many artists also tackled another abandoned building, affectionately known as ´Biig Tussu Laav´ or ´Big Pussy Love´ after the landmark graffiti scrawled on one of its sides. The standout piece here is a portrait by Belgian artist Bisser that channels Amedeo Modigliani and Vladimir Tretchikoff – high art and kitsch – which touches upon the organizers’ concerns about a street art movement increasingly defined by market economics as much as everyday acts of resistance.
Stencibility Festival is proudly supported by: City of Tartu, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Civitta, Converse, Skizze, Akzo Nobel, Karl Bilder, Omniva, Barlova, Mäshroom Stuudio, Egg Shell Stickers, Sticker Mule, Pulk Design, Pühaste and Tartu 2024.
For more information please contact: Sirla, Head of the Festival (E: [email protected]; T: +372 5812 3417)
