If you’d visited Malaga 10 years ago, you wouldn’t have looked twice at the Soho district between the river and the port. But come on holiday to Malaga in 2015 and this area has become a must-visit on the city’s list of attractions. Now a happening neighbourhood in its own, Soho is the place to come to see street art in Malaga.
Soho’s street art is the brain child of MAUS (the Spanish acronym for Urban Art in Soho Malaga), a project designed to convert the district into a backdrop for art in all its forms, but with particular emphasis on street art. And not just any old art. Soho boasts murals by some of the world’s best including American Shepard Fairey aka Obey, British D*Face and Ben Eine, French Remed and Spanish Okuda and Pantone.
There are already over 50 murals covering walls, doorways, bridges and windows in the Soho district with many more in the pipeline. Here’s our guide to where to see some of the best street art in Malaga.
El Perchel Bridge
Make this pedestrian bridge just opposite the CAC (Contemporary Art Centre) your starting point. Highlights from here include:
The rainbow bridge painted by Felipe Pantone this summer. Pantone is best know for his optical art and here he makes great use of bright colours that contrast with the black and white ends of the bridge.
Riverside graphics
On the east side of the river look out for the oil slick to the right of the bridge. By Javier Calleja, this is also a new addition to street art in Malaga. On the opposite side is a 130m long mural by Ben Eine, a well-known graffiti in the east end of London.
Before you leave the bridge, turn south towards the sea to get a view of the giant murals by Obey and D*Face. Painted in 2013, the murals took 3 days to finish and measure 38m tall by 9m wide.
South of the CAC
Next make your way towards the Obey and D*Face murals. Highlights in this section of Soho include:
The school walls. Check out the front of the wall with is a large mural where crocodiles and bathers are enjoying a dip.
Car park. Before you head into the streets of Soho, don’t miss the mural on the Calle Alemania car park. It says ‘Hola. Welcome to Malaga’ and each letter represents a symbol of something to do in Malaga. Our favourite is the sardine espeto L in Malaga.
Hotel Bahía
Next cross the Alameda de Colón and make your way into Soho proper. Head for Calle Somera.
Venus mural. This is another new addition to street art in Malaga. Painted this summer by Okuda and Remed, the giant mural covers the entire façade of the Hotel Bahía. Its bright colours represent Venus (think Botticelli’s famous ‘Birth of Venus’) and a sailor. To see how the 2 intertwine, get as far back from the mural as you can.
Graffiti vandals. Opposite the Venus mural are Soho graffiti vandals reminding us that street art isn’t always on the right side of the law.
Calle Tomás Heredia
The main pedestrian street in Soho also has some of the earlier examples of street art in the neighbourhood. As you look towards the port, look up to Obey’s latest creation. Mujer Fatal is a portrait of his wife and a symbol of peace. (This one only took him 7 hours because he came with a template!) Then take a walk around the block along Calle Casas del Campo and Calle Simonet. Every door and window on the ground floor of this abandoned building has a mural.
Calle Vendeja
You can find some recent additions (April 2019) to Malaga street art at the Calle Córdoba end of Calle Vendeja (parallel to the Alameda Principal) in Soho. Created by the Italian artist, TV Boy, they show 4 well-known creative faces from Malaga: Pablo Picasso, Antonio Banderas, Chiquito de la Calzada (comedian and actor) and Dani Rovira (actor). As the murals say, Malaga loves art!
More street art in Malaga
You can also view lots of other street art in the area around Calle Victoria. Follow our walking tour to discover the best.
