The eighth edition of the Sibiu International Street Art Festival (SISAF) starts today, July 18, in Sibiu, in central Romania. Artists coming from Argentina. Austria, France, Malta, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Romania participate in the festival.

The event, which runs until July 24, aims to bring this art form closer to the city’s residents and in new areas of Sibiu. Several blocks of flats in the area of Calea Cisnădiei and the Ștrand neighborhood have been added to the festival circuit this year. 

As part of the festival, seven selected artists work every day to design the works they submitted to the event. 

The work of Argentinian artist Dossier will be made on a block of flats at 17 Calea Cisnădiei. The painting aims to capture “two key characters – mother nature and a girl concerned with the environment.” In the same area, on 84 and 86 A Calea Cisnădiei, artists Tim Marsh (Malta) and Theo Lopez (France) will design works speaking of the festival’s theme. Lopez is working on a mural “in his abstract style, based on geometrical motifs, straight lines, and optical effects,” while Marsh “uses geometrical lines and contrasting colors to capture the universe’s reflection in the future, if people continue to pollute and destroy nature.”

Portuguese artist Francisco Camilo returns to SISAF after five years with a mural designed “as a representation of the thoughts and existential questions in the mind of a teenager.” The work is designed on a block of flats in the Ștrand neighborhood (1A Prof. Ioan Moga St.).

Meanwhile, Czech artist Maria Makeeva will design her work on a wall of Secondary School No 4, in a project of the Czech Center occasioned by the Czech Republic taking over the presidency of the Council of the EU.

Artist HNRX, born in Austria, will work on a wall of the thermal power plant at Aleea Biruinței, while Sibiu artist Graflin’ will design in Huet Square an installation made out of colored strings.

The works made at this year’s festival will add to the city’s Street Art Gallery, currently covering 50 venues and 106 mural paintings. 

The program of the festival also includes the photo exhibition #Reflections by photographer Octavian Pavel. The photos are on display in Huet Square until July 24. 

The same venue hosts the Street Art Talks, a series of conversations about the world of street art, sources of inspiration and the creative process.

A City Hunt is scheduled in Huet Square for Friday, July 22, and Saturday, July 23. The square also hosts live painting sessions on Friday and Saturday, and an After Party on Friday.

The public is invited to the Sibiu Street Art Tour on Sunday, July 24. The bike tour takes the audience to the venues where this year’s works were created.

(Photos courtesy of Sibiu International Street ART Festival)

simona@romania-insider.com