Over the past few years, we have become very fascinated with street art and city murals. There’s just something special about finding an amazing piece of art on the side of a building, in a public park or on a busy city street. But finding street art can seem a little overwhelming if you aren’t sure where to start looking. Here are some tips to help you find street art when you are in a new city or out on adventure.

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Street Art, Murals & Sculpture Gardens

How to Find Street Art

Do a quick internet search.
If you type in the name of your city and the words street art, you will find many search results. I often skip straight to an image search so I can see some of the art pieces that are in each city. Then I click on that image and it will often take me to a blog post about these art pieces.

Ask the Tourism Office
The people who know the area the best are the people who work in the tourism office for the city. So call them before you visit and ask them where to find the best public art.

Follow Hashtags
Instagram is a great place to find public art installations. You can search hashtags like #streetart, #publicart, #murals, #cityart, and #streetartist to find some amazing pieces of art around the world. When you find one that you like, just click on the image and see if it gives a location. The search to find public art is like a scavenger hunt.

We’ve found some pretty amazing examples of street art and city murals in the last few years. Sometimes we stumble on a street mural or public sculpture by accident, but most of the time we hear about a piece of art and stop by on purpose. Here are a few of our favorite recent pieces of public art and some of our favorite ways to find local art.

In Lexington, Kentucky you can find this Abraham Lincoln Street Mural on the back of the Children’s Theater building.

Paducah, Kentucky has turned their floodwalls into amazing works of art by Robert Dafford!

Columbia, South Carolina boasts some pretty impressive pieces of street art – especially this Tunnel Mural where you can almost imagine that you are going to drive through the tunnel!

Des Moines, Iowa has an impressive free public sculpture garden that is open to the public.

How to enjoy Street Art

Street art and city murals are meant to be interacted with. Take your time and enjoy each piece. These paintings have been created by artists of all skill levels. Sometimes they are commissioned and created with a massive budget but other times they are just works by local artists who are looking for a way to express their love for art and the local area.

**Always respect the art and the artist, but feel free to bring the art to life. It looks like we are touching some of these art pieces, but we are always careful to keep a careful distance when we take the fun pictures.

Cincinnati, Ohio: In the parking lot of the American Sign Museum, you can find this really cool piece of art on the side of the building. If you take a picture at just the right angle, you can almost fool your friends into thinking that you are really climbing the ladder.

Do you enjoy street art, public sculpture gardens and murals? What is your favorite find? I’d love to see!