Some people think it’s disrespectful marking up the walls of the city. Not me! I find it unique, beautiful and very inspiring. To me, graffiti not only means art, but also youth and vitality. I do firmly believe that graffiti has its place and limits. Not all buildings and houses should be marked. But in Eindhoven, there is a very cool place where graffiti not only covers the walls, the walls become the art. Welcome to the Bear Pit!
The ‘Berenkuil’, or Bear Pit, is located in one of the city’s many larger roundabouts. The roundabouts are confusing enough with your GPS telling you to stay in the middle lane, take the third exit and exit left. But throw in a continuous wall to wall art display and you get a tad distracted. It’s best to just pull over to park, get out, walk, and enjoy.
Even on a normal day, you can find graffiti artists working on their craft. Take for example three artists I came upon one day while walking in the Berenkuil, Maus4, Just and Huge. These talented young men love displaying their art and sharing their passion with the world. Take a walk under the roundabout and discover their work.Once a year, Eindhoven hosts an event called ‘Step into the Arena’. The past years, graffiti is painted over, covering all the walls in black. Then the artists begin again. The artists show up from all over the world. They bring their scaffolding, suitcases full of spray paint, usually a sketch of what they are going to create and sometimes a few groupies.It’s amazing to see someone with just a can of spray paint create something that can look so lifelike or unique.Graffiti…. I say Yes!
Lisa Jochim
