Six street artists who are now designing Düsseldorf's streets

The 40 Grad Urban Art Festival celebrates 40 years of street culture together with Kiefernstraße

Kiefernstraße is a very lively part of Düsseldorf's history. The residential street, which became famous for its left-wing alternative squatter scene, has been a popular stomping ground for the street art scene since the 1980s - the house façades sprayed with virtuoso graffiti speak colorful volumes. To mark the 40th anniversary of Kiefernstraße, the 40 Grad Urban Art Festival, which has been celebrating street art every year since 2013, is bringing a whole host of famous street artists to Düsseldorf. We tell you which stars of the scene will be pulling out their spray cans in Düsseldorf from August 20 to September 5.   

How and Nosm  

Born in Spain, twin brothers Raoul and Davide Perre lived in Düsseldorf for a long time and immortalized themselves on Kiefernstraße as teenagers. They are now based in New York and their works, which have a high recognition value thanks to their reduced color palettes and complex motifs, are among the best-known street artists in the world.  

Daniel Mac Lloyd

The Luxembourger mixes classic graffiti with lettering and abstract and photorealistic art. In his home country, he won the Street Art Award Benelux in 2018 and has had a lasting impact on the urban art scene with his own gallery. Mac Lloyd is still largely unknown in Düsseldorf. That is about to change!

Mick La Rock

Aileen Middel aka Mick La Rock is one of the first female sprayers in Europe. Since 1983, the artist has been on the road with her graffiti style inspired by classic New York School lettering. After conquering her home country, the Netherlands, she was regularly invited to New York and went on to collaborate with countless artists in the scene worldwide. Today, she is mainly active in Amsterdam, works with institutions such as the Stedelijk Museum and has found her own style in very minimalist abstract forms.

Alexandros Tsakonas

Athens-born artist Alexandros studied sculpture and worked in marble and bronze until he turned to painting and street art. He now lives in Naoussa, Greece, where he passes on his extensive knowledge. Last year, the Düsseldorf association Farbfieber e. V. supported the International Urban Art Festival in Naoussa, and now Tsakonas is coming to Düsseldorf for the 40 Grad Urban Art Festival.

Klaus Klinger

Klaus Klinger, who has been active in Düsseldorf's urban art scene for over 40 years, was one of the first artists to be active on Kiefernstraße in the 1980s. This year, he is not designing any of the building façades, but is devoting himself to the Kiefernstraße village square, which is being given a completely new look to mark the occasion.

Turbo Urban

The collective around artist and curator Robert Roschwig is planning an exhibition with a total of 40 stars from the Düsseldorf urban art scene. Among them are Oliver Räke aka Magic, Marc and Joe Hennig aka Majo Brothers, Bartotainment and Straßenmaid, to name but a few. For the anniversary, everyone will be grabbing a spray can at Kiefernstraße 35, the so-called Red House.