Scribbles by teenagers, a rebellion against society, elaborately detailed art by a street artist, or a temporary, ephemeral display? The terms are familiar to the general public, at least since Banksy showed that murals can be worth a lot of money. Opinions on graffiti and murals are divided, but it is a fact that in Bolzano they embellish several large, empty or grey walls. There are several projects in Bolzano that give graffiti artists space to express themselves and to steer them away from spraying on building facades, which is still a punishable offence.

One of these is called MurArte. As part of it, the "Cans in Frames" exhibition was organised: Art from the street could thus be admired as a special exhibition in the Museion. In 2025, this was followed by the "Graffiti" exhibition at the Museion, dedicated to the connections between graffiti and contemporary visual art. It was the first institutional exhibition of its kind in Italy.

It featured early spray paintings by renowned artists from the 1950s to the 1970s, paintings from the 1980s, and works by international contemporary artists. The exhibition marked the beginning of a new long-term line of research for the Museion Bolzano, focusing on gentle and non-violent forms of resistance and art as a social and urban practice.

Dedicated events are also organised for this purpose. An example is "39C Bolzano Graffiti Jam", an international graffiti art festival, which was last held in 2023 and organised by the Office for Youth of the Town of Bolzano in collaboration with the Volontarius association.

So where can you see the graffiti and murals in Bolzano? The artworks from the "39C Bolzano Graffiti Jam" can still be seen today on the walls along the cycle path on Via Mayr Nusser road towards the Cineplexx cinema and on Via Lancia road in the industrial zone of Bolzano: Those on Via Lancia (marked in the picture gallery and on the map) are located along the pedestrian and cycle path between the Twenty and Centrum shopping centres. Another large mural, called "Ricorda la bellezza" by Egeon, adorns a building facade on Via Roen road.