Street art has become very popular in Kyiv since Ukraine’s EuroMaidan Revolution a couple of years back, and this summer the Ukrainian capital welcomed more than 30 artists from all over the world to let their creative skills take over the city walls.
Kyiv now boasts the largest Byzantine-Greek style mural in the world, painted by 28-year-old Athens-based Greek artist Fikos. He came to Ukraine in late June at the invitation of the Sky Art Foundation, a private initiative to support the contemporary arts in Ukraine.
The 46-meter high mural, named ‘Earth and Sky’ is located at 4 Akhmatova St. in Kyiv and took the artist 13 days to create the mural.
“I painted an ecumenical theme, with the colours inspired by the building itself and the neighbourhood,” Fikoa told a local Ukranian paper.
The artist said people in Kyiv seem to respect their city and its architecture more than in his own home city. Compared to Athens, walls in the Ukrainian capital are cleaner and less damaged by graffiti, Nikos went on to say.
The foundation’s communication manager, Julia Lazniuk, also says that public art encourages city residents to take better care of their surroundings: “Somebody may not throw trash on the ground or set up another kiosk,” she says.
According to officials, the foundation’s aim is to promote international cultural exchanges, as well as the integration of Ukrainian culture into the world art scene. Since 2014, the foundation has supported the development of a new generation of Ukrainian painters working in the sphere of contemporary art.
