
Street art made in Toulouse
Whether they were the pioneers, Toulouse residents or visitors, whether they were commissioned or spontaneous, there are many artists who have put up a tag, a piece of graffiti or a mural on the walls of the Ville Rose. Discover where and how graffiti is expressed in Toulouse.
Arnaud-Bernard, the cradle of Toulouse graffiti
In Toulouse, graffiti as we know it today took off in the late 1980s. Influenced by New York hip-hop culture, the first graffiti artists put up their drawings and aliases (blazes) tagged in the flop or chrome style, particularly in the undeveloped areas of the Arnaud-Bernard quarter.
Born in the streets, graffiti is by its very nature an ephemeral art form that transgresses the rules, and was regarded as vandalism: the works of the time were therefore practically all wiped out or covered over. This did not stop the creative and passionate Toulouse artists from throwing their first (coloured) bombs in Toulouse before expressing themselves all over the world. This urban art has become so popular that today the city of Toulouse has commissioned local and international artists to create huge murals.

Truskool
In the Embarthe gardens, the oldest surviving graffiti in Toulouse is visible on a wall overgrown with ivy. Commissioned by the town hall in 1994, it is signed by four members of a pioneering collective in Toulouse known as Truskool.
Still in the same neighbourhood, in 2000, the local association and residents called on graffiti artists to repaint the Rue Gramat. Since then, this street is a world apart, colourful and constantly updated thanks to the new graffiti that covers the previous works.
More recently, Tilt, Tober, Soone, 2pon, Ceet, Sike and Der, all members of Truskool, have all put up their blazes like geological layers on a building near the Place Arnaud-Bernard; a real nod to the history of graffiti in the neighbourhood.

Mademoiselle Kat
Mademoiselle Kat is one of the pioneers of graffiti in Toulouse. Her brush-painted female characters inspired by film and cartoon icons have regularly graced the walls of the Ville Rose since the 1990s, as well as her more contemporary collages of baby dolls. In 2019, she produced a colourful, enthusiastic and committed mural that looks like a 1950s film poster, yet is very much in tune with current events thanks to its message; "The climate is warming up".
5, rue Sainte-Ursule

Miss Van
Miss Van returned to Toulouse in 2016, her original creative base, to compose a gigantic work for the Rose Béton urban culture festival. Entitled «The Symphony of Songs », this dreamy, sensual and poetic brush-painted mural blends perfectly with the urban environment and depicts a female figure surrounded by masks inspired by different cultures of the world.
5, rue du Pont de Tounis

Poes & Jober
Do you know the « Tale of Gilgamesh »? This literary work, the oldest in the world, was written in cuneiform letters on clay tablets and tells of the adventures of the King of Uruk in his quest for immortality. Poes & Jober have illustrated a very contemporary and exuberant version of the character in the Busca quarter. The colourful tone and the abundance of fine detail bring a playful and offbeat look at this legend of human history.
30, rue Marceau

100Taur
In 2018, 100Taur painted a spectacular work, one of the longest murals in the city, near a boulodrome in the Minimes quarter. The artist drew his inspiration from the world of Picasso, Hieronymus Bosch and popular culture and composed a world inhabited by strange and fantastic creatures, in particular slugs, his favourite subject.
Rue des Anges

Maye & Mondé
Maye & Mondé have created a singular work in tandem to tell us: "We are sheep and we all need a shepherdess". In the foreground, Maye has depicted a shepherdess with a mechanical body and an improbable posture. Have you noticed the fineness of her lacework? It was made entirely with spray paint! In the background, Mondé's calligraphy inspired by Arabic writing can be seen. Look closely at his work and you will be able to read a few words of his message.
64, avenue de l’URSS

Reso
Reso's huge graffiti is displayed on the front of a building on the banks of the Canal du Midi. The artist comes from Toulouse and his « wild style » is recognised all over the world. For years, this key figure in the world of graffiti has been playing with lettering. Here he has created a graphic composition full of curves and colours in which he distorts and intertwines the letters until they become almost abstract.
Avenue Albert Bedouce

Hendrik Beikirch
Hendrik Beikirch, also known as ECB, is a German artist who uses hyperrealism in graffiti. He portrays real people, marked by existence and time, which are sure to make a big impression. In 2016, during the Rose Béton Festival, he painted a portrait of a Berber weaver that disappeared when the building was demolished. In 2017, ECB came back to paint a second portrait, that of a Siberian grandmother he met during his travels, which can still be seen in the Empalot quarter.
Rue d’Antibes

CeeT
CeeT grew up in Toulouse before moving to China. His small, round and colourful chickens, the "chicanos" as he calls them, have travelled the world and become his trademark. For this 2019 project, residents were able to vote for the mural of their choice. The artwork is both playful and wry, inviting us to draw a parallel with the individual and his place in society. A way for each of us to remember to stand out from the crowd!
32 rue Jean Moulin

Hense
An Atlanta-based graffiti artist, Hense was invited to the Rose Béton Festival in 2019. Abstraction, juxtaposition of forms, and large areas of colour guide his artistic impulses. Always in touch with the surrounding buildings and employing large surfaces, Hense brings a small visual shock to this neighbourhood of old mansions from the classical era.
6 rue Sainte Anne
And there’s more
Numerous murals have been created in the Ville Rose, notably as part of Rose Béton, which has become an unmissable event. These works are all listed on the city’s web site.
One website lists all the street-art works in Toulouse: toulouse.streetartcities.com
Urban cultures also have their own dedicated spaces to explore: the 50cinq, the Aérochrome or 22M2.
