Nuart Aberdeen 2024: Everything you need to know as artists announced for street art festival

Returning artists include the Granite City’s own KMG, who has created two large murals during previous festivals, as well as Hera, one of the creators behind the iconic Aberdeen Market mural.

Since the festival launched in 2017, Nuart has been making its mark around the city. From large murals such as Conzo & Glöbel’s 2018 The New Super Scurry on the city’s Holburn Street to new additions such as Murmure’s work which can be spotted from King Street.

This year’s edition of Nuart Aberdeen is set to run from Thursday, June 6 to Sunday, June 9 2024 with the theme “Living Heritage”.

Ahead of events kicking off, here’s everything we know so far about Nuart Aberdeen 2024, including which artists are taking part and the dates you should know.

When is Nuart Aberdeen 2024?

Returning for 2024, Nuart Aberdeen will take place from Thursday, June 6 to Sunday, June 9.

Artists will arrive ahead of the festival’s launch to erect their murals around the city centre, with further events still to be announced.

What is Nuart?

Nuart Aberdeen is a street art festival which is widely regarded among the world’s best.

The festival first arrived in Aberdeen in 2017, bringing in dozens of international artists and attracting tens of thousands of visitors and locals to the city centre, boosting local businesses and providing legacy artwork alongside new pieces of art which can be continually revisited.

Nuart is supported by Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeen Inspired, with the aim of making art part of people's everyday lives, which it does by challenging traditional notions of what public art is.

What is the theme of Nuart 2024?

The theme of Nuart Aberdeen 2024 is “Living Heritage”.

Said to represent the shift in heritage as it passes from generation to generation, the theme also refers to cultural practices and skills being passed down within a community.

Martyn Reed, the curator of Nuart Aberdeen, has also described this year’s Nuart theme as “Intangible Cultural Heritage”.

He said: “Living heritage incorporates the parts of our shared past that live in our present – everyday rituals and practices, cultural expressions, shared memories, celebrations, festivals, stories, songs, and craft skills that help to define who we are.”

The theme has also been established to reflect the nature of the festival, as some of the art produced for Nuart has itself been lost to time or changes within the environment, such as the demolition of Aberdeen Market.

Reed said: “The ephemeral nature of much of the culture we work with and produce in Aberdeen could itself be regarded as intangible cultural heritage, as the loss of first large scale mural from Herakut produced on the old Market back in 2017 would attest. Something many will be happy to hear we’ll be revisiting this year

Nuart Aberdeen walking tours

One of the most popular events of the festival, Nuart walking tours will return for 2024. On Sundays in May, interested visitors can join the walking tours which take off from Foodstory in the city centre from 1pm.

If joining a large group isn’t appealing, you can also plan your own route through Aberdeen Inspired’s website using their Nuart map.

Nuart Aberdeen 2024 locations

While the dates and artists for Nuart 2024 have been revealed, the walls which will be part of this year’s festival have still to be revealed.

Information should be revealed in the coming weeks.

Which artists are taking part in Nuart 2024?

There will be eleven artists from around the world travelling to Aberdeen to transform the city as part of Nuart 2024.

Last year’s festival line-up included artists such as Jamie Reed, the designer behind the Sex Pistols album covers, as well as Scottish artist KMG, who is returning for 2024.

In addition, Frankfurt-born painter Jasmin Siddiqui - also known as Hera - will return to Nuart. Her work which was on the side of the now demolished Aberdeen Market was among the festival’s early murals.

Here are all 11 Nuart Aberdeen 2024 artists:

Addam Yekutieli aka Know Hope: An American-born Israeli artist from Tel Aviv who creates social practice projects, immersive installations and public artworks.

Bahia Shehab: A multidisciplinary artist, designer, political activist and historian from Cairo whose work focuses on the interaction and intersection of modern identity and ancient cultural heritage.

Case Maclaim: From Germany, Andreas von Chrzanowski (under the name Case Maclaim) is a pioneer of photorealism and for over two decades has left fingerprints in his art in more than 20 countries.

Cbloxx: English muralist, painter and multidisciplinary artist Jay Gilleard is known for co-founding internationally acclaimed street art duo Nomad who painted the tallest mural in the UK.

Hera: A German-born artist who is known for using a variety of different mediums in her work, which typically portrays mythological creatures and darkly comedic and satirical scenes.

KMG: Aberdeen’s KMG is a Scottish based artist who has been making work on the street for over a decade. With a strong belief in the power of art, KMG also regularly works with community groups, healthcare and educational institutions to help make art as accessible as possible.

Mahn Kloix: French artist Mahn’s work always contains a message to those fighting for a better world, crafted specifically to be shared through street art.

Millo: Italian artist Francesco Camillo Giorgino, known as Millo, paints large-scale murals that feature friendly inhabitants exploring their urban setting often incorporating architecture into his work which is built using simple black and white lines with dashes of colour.

Molly Hankinson: Now living in Glasgow, though originally from London, Molly Hankinson is a visual artist who creates honest and unapologetic representations of people and communities through an intersectional feminist lens.

Niels Shoe Meulman: A visual artist from the Netherlands, Muelman is known for his work which initiated the Calligraffiti movement, claiming “a word is an image and writing is painting”.

Wasted Rita: Portuguese artist Wasted Rita’s work often involves of a variety of media including sculptural objects, installation, painting, drawing, and writing.

What’s on during the festival?

In addition to the art going up around the city, there will also be a number of fringe events and exhibitions as well as the Urban Art Conference which looks set to host renowned academics, critics, industry professionals and more to promote street art.

During the opening weekend there will also be a launch event, as well as artist talks, film screenings, fresh street art tours, children’s workshops and more, with details and timings still to be announced.