Berawa Beach Mural Walk
The Berawa Beach Mural Walk on Jalan Pantai Berawa in Canggu, Bali, is an open-air gallery established following the 2016 Tropica Festival. Organized by Paris-born Julien Thorax, the event brought together over 40 global artists to paint the town. Today, roughly 75 percent of the murals are created by international artists like Jay Fanakapan, alongside local Balinese artists addressing topics like overtourism and marine pollution.
Canggu, Bali · from the walk “Canggu Unlocked: Surf, Murals & Island Vibes” · audio ~3 min · Generated
Jl. Pantai Berawa, Canggu, Bali
- In 2016, former Paris finance worker Julien Thorax launched Bali's first street art event, the Tropica Festival, in Canggu.
- More than 40 artists participated in the week-long Tropica Festival held in Canggu in 2016.
- Foreign artists created approximately 75 percent of the street art murals found throughout Canggu.
- Balinese artist Slinat painted a 1920s dancer wearing a gas mask to protest overtourism in Bali.
How did the Berawa Beach Mural Walk in Canggu become a street art destination?
Okay, look around you. See those walls? Every single one is Screaming with color. Welcome to Jalan Pantai Berawa... Canggu's wildest open-air art gallery.......... Now here's the thing most people don't know. Canggu used to be nothing more than a sleepy surf town. No trendy cafes, no smoothie bowls, no TikTok influencers. Just rice paddies, fishing boats, and waves. So how did all this insane street art get here?......... Street art first took off in Canggu around twenty fifteen, when international artists started showing up. But the Real game-changer came a year later. In twenty sixteen, a guy named Julien Thorax launched the Tropica Festival... Bali's very first street art and graffiti festival. And get this... more than forty artists took part in a one-week blitz of parties and wall painting. Big names like Roa, Felipe Pantone, and Seth Globepainter helped put Bali on the global street art map.......... But who IS Julien Thorax? A former finance worker from Paris who ended a round-the-world journey, landed in Bali in twenty fifteen, and knew right away it was a place he could support street art the way Paris does. So he quit the spreadsheets... and opened a spray can shop called Allcaps.......... Now look closely at the murals around you. About seventy-five percent of the murals in Canggu were actually created by foreign artists. You might spot the work of London artist Jay Fanakapan... he's famous for his three-D hyper-realistic chrome balloons that literally trick your eyes. One of his pieces here is called High Five... painted in silver chrome so it reflects the surrounding rice paddies.......... But it's not just international names. A local Balinese artist called DnzTwo started painting murals in two thousand five, combining realistic portraits with traditional Balinese motifs as a symbol of his heritage. And there's an artist named Slinat who painted a nineteen twenties photo of a Balinese dancer... but with a gas mask on her face. His message? Too much tourism ruined the exotic Bali... so he created a parody to show how much things have changed.......... Here's one more thing that makes this stretch so special. Allcaps Store teamed up with the ocean conservation foundation Pangeaseed to raise awareness about plastic pollution and marine life damage through art. Many of the murals you see around Canggu aim to raise awareness about rampant development and environmental pollution.......... So next time you snap a selfie in front of one of these walls... take an extra second. Read the image. These aren't just cool backgrounds for your Instagram. They're protest signs, love letters, and wake-up calls... all painted in neon.