The basic function of monumental painting is to enliven public space, complement modern architecture, and make art – normally confined in galleries – available to a broader public.
The first murals appeared in Zaspa in 1997 thanks to the efforts of Rafał Roskowiński. 2009 saw the first edition of the “Monumental Art” Painting Festival aimed at building the largest European integrated gallery of murals. Each year, the artists invited to the next edition of the Festival, inspired by its leading theme, prepare about five new paintings.
Also in 2009, the Gdańsk School of Murals was opened under the direction of Rafał Roskowiński, whose intention was to integrate artistic circles and hone students’ skills in the field of “monumental painting”.
The development of the Monumental Painting Collection is accompanied by various artistic and cultural events, initiatives, and picnics, such as “Chopin in the Projects” featuring an open-air concert of Chopin’s music with a mobile carillon, “The Night of the Murals” – visiting the Collection at night with Local Guides, and the campaign “Miłosz in the Projects” which included a vernissage of murals by Rafał Roskowiński, inspired by the photo taken during Czesław Miłosz’s visit to the Gdańsk Shipyard in 1981.
The Zaspa collection consists of paintings made by the most prominent representatives of the street-art movement, both from Poland and abroad. Especially worth seeing are the works by Mariusz Waras (m-city) at 12 Pilotów St., Klaus Klinger (5a Bajana St.), Wallride (18a Pilotów St.), Kidgaucho (13b Dywizjonu 303 St.), ClemensBehr (10g Skarżyńskiego St.), Rafał Roskowiński (33a Dywizjonu 303 and 3c Bajana Streets), Ekt (5a Pilotów St.), Prozak (14a Pilotów St.), OZMO (6a Pilotów St.), and Justyna Dziechciarska (3a Dywizjonu 303 St.).
