ArtWalk 7

The 7th International Street Art Festival of Patras – ArtWalk 7 was completed with remarkable success this, year as well. The team of Art in Progress managed to offer color and optimism to a weary public area, both conceptually and esthetically. Our everyday lives are changing rapidly. Artistic expression and public areas are being afflicted more than ever in modern times, but not in Patras. Here, against the difficult circumstances, modern art carried out its task in the best way possible. The artists and their works transported us to new, creative worlds, sending messages of historic memorial, extroverted solidarity and the hope of being able to keep our heads held high. ArtWalk, in an unprecedented way for Greece, mobilised and actively mobilises citizens, creating a feeling of optimism and euphoria for the future image of the city around the world. For the 1st time, the International Festival of Patras lasted from May to October 2022! During the 6 months of this year, it turned the daily life of our city upside down and familiarised its citizens with the artistic world of Street Art and multi-storey murals in their own neighbourhood! It engaged the local, national and international press with more than 400 articles, while the social media response to Art in Progress and ArtWalk exceeded 3.000.000 visits, and the videos of the event have exceeded 40.000.000 views worldwide. Thus, Art in Progress essentially proved that contemporary visual art interventions in the public urban fabric of the city, even in difficult circumstances, can establish Patras internationally as a pole of attraction for cultural tourism through innovation, creativity and extroversion. Art in Progress and its community of citizens succeeded in hosting, for the 7th year on a row some of the finest, world renowned street artists from Greece and from all over the world. Τhe countries represented this year at the International Festival are: Greece (3 artists), Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Spain and United Kingdom! In total 5 continents were represented out of a total of 7, with the only exception this year being South America as the 7th continent is Antarctica! The street artists who left their mark on this year’s festival, by creating 10 unparalleled murals on selected walls in the urban fabric of Patras were: KLE , Jarus, John Valyrakis, D*Face, Mon Devane, Elléna Lourens, Emic, Leonidas Giannakopoulos, CHEKOS and Dalal Mitwally.