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Street Art: The City as your Canvas
Paris is home to a vibrant street art scene, contrasting with the artistic masters exhibited in the world’s best museums. Let's break out of the gold-gilded walls and take to the streets for inspiration.
Street art in Paris grew out of the avant-garde period in the 1960s. At the time, avant-garde artists used posters and collage techniques to express their vision.
Today, Parisian street artists operate in a grey area. Private space and public space merge, allowing for some negotiation of legality à la française. Numerous large-scale murals have been commissioned by the town hall and local authorities, translating what was known as graffiti into the space of respected art practice.
As you will discover, Paris is covered with street art (and less legal but very well known) guerilla posters, murals, tags, and drawings. From Banksy to Dysturb, public space in Paris is overflowing with art, showcasing the techniques that French Street artists have become known for, like stenciling and postering.
Miss Tic, a French street art icon
MissTic is a pioneer of French street art. Her provocative work began to appear in Paris’s Montmartre neighborhood in the mid-1980s. One of the founders of stencil art, she was known for her graffiti of enigmatic female figures, like the flowing black-haired woman, resembling the artist herself, that often appeared in her work. MissTic passed away in 2022.
Learn more about Paris street art
Join one of our dedicated tours about Modern Paris.
From the enormous murals in the 13th arrondissement, the iconic rooftops and painted trucks in the Ménilmontant district, to the hidden tags scattered in Le Marais neighborhood, Paris has a vibrant street-art culture.
Explore Parisian graffiti with a passionate guide and learn about the latest masterpieces from world-renowned street artists that decorate public space in the city of lights.
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