A policy will regulate the mural art in Krakow

The Polish city wants all murals to be aesthetic and to fit into the surroundings

Krakow is currently working on the establishment of a common mural policy, meant to regulate existing and future displays of this form of street art. With a special guide and efficient public management, the Polish city wants to support artists to produce high-quality pieces, with great aesthetic, informative and social value.

Murals should be designed with respect to the public space

Murals have become one of the most recognisable forms of art in the public space, in the opinion of the Krakow authorities. Furthermore, with 20-30 new mural proposals received each year, it is even possible to claim that murals are in vogue.

They have an important role in the public sphere. They convey messages, promote brands and inform the public. Murals can also transform the character of a space, by making it more aesthetic and attractive to tourists. On the other hand, improperly produced and neglected murals can truly spoil the ambience or spoil the impact with commercialisation.

Creating proper guidelines for this art form has become more important over the past decade, so Krakow Municipality decided to take the matter in its own hands and design a special mural policy. Its objective is to allow for the integrated management of the mural resources in line with the historical heritage and the modern outlook of the city.

“We care about the highest quality mural art because we are aware that the artistic and performance quality of the murals says a lot about the organizational, spatial and aesthetic culture of those who manage the city. We want to approach the subject of murals in a modern, transparent manner and develop a set of recommendations and guidelines for efficient management of this field of art”, explained Robert Piaskowski, plenipotentiary of the Mayor of Krakow for Culture.

“In an ideal world, mural works would be created in relation to a specific space and involve the local community. We want to help the creators of murals. We will develop a kind of guide that will allow artists to take into account, for example, the quality of materials used, wall preparation and planning the life cycle of murals, but we will also identify institutions that can be partners for the city in this process” added Małgorzata Jantos from the City of Krakow.

The Polish city will be involving local experts and organisations working in the fields of arts and culture in the design of coordinated policies supporting the creation of large-format paintings and murals. The process will also lead to the creation of guides for artists, grant competitions and the conservation program of selected paintings.

Work on the mural policy will begin with a debate on the substantive, administrative and legal aspects of the project. The process should be completed at the turn of the first quarter of 2021.