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10 Urban Art Installations That Celebrate Books and Music

June 20, 2025
By Vidar

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Split image showing two public art installations. On the left, the "Stairs of Knowledge" at the University of Balamand in Lebanon, a painted staircase featuring 21 classic book covers in near-chronological order, symbolizing intellectual growth. On the right, a snow-covered urban scene with lamp posts shaped like jazz musicians playing trumpet and saxophone, positioned beside a piano-shaped bench made of ornate black metal.

From staircases turned into philosophy shelves to lamp posts jamming in a jazz band, these ten public artworks celebrate two of humanity’s most powerful forms of expression—books and music. Spotted across the globe, this curated collection features a violin bigger than a building, a sparrow flying out of a storybook, and benches that look like novels ready to be opened. Here’s how artists have brought literature and rhythm into the streets.

More: 10 Street Art Masterpieces That Will Make You Fall in Love with Books Again

Painted staircase at the University of Balamand in Lebanon, known as the "Stairs of Knowledge," featuring 21 book spines in near-chronological order from classical to modern works, including The Republic of Plato, The Divine Comedy, and Faust. Located beside the university library and surrounded by greenery, the stairs symbolize the ascent through knowledge and education.

1. Stairs of Knowledge — University of Balamand, Lebanon

This painted staircase outside the library at the University of Balamand features 21 classic book spines arranged in near-chronological order. Titled the “Stairs of Knowledge,” the installation symbolizes intellectual progress through reading and has become a visual landmark for students and visitors alike.

Curved wooden bench shaped like an open book, with brown slats forming the seat and white-painted sides resembling fanned pages, located near the city library of Zaporozhye, Ukraine.

2. Book Bench — Zaporozhye, Ukraine

Installed near the city library of Zaporozhye, this creatively designed bench resembles an open book with curved wooden slats for seating and white painted pages along the sides. It’s a fitting tribute to reading placed right at the heart of literary access.

Sculptures of lamp posts shaped like jazz musicians playing trumpet and saxophone beside a piano-shaped bench in a snowy public park.

3. Jazz Lamps

Street lamps take the shape of jazz musicians—one plays trumpet, another saxophone—while an ornate metal bench forms a piano. The snow-covered scene amplifies the surreal atmosphere.

More!: Repairing the World with LEGO

Large mural of a boy sitting with a white guitar painted across stair risers; blue guitar case painted at the bottom in Houston, Texas, USA.

4. Guitar Player — Mural by Alex Maksiov in Houston, Texas, USA

Painted directly onto stair steps, this large-scale mural shows a boy sitting with a white electric guitar and an open blue case beneath him, making clever use of perspective.

🔗 Follow Alex Maksiov on Instagram

Street art mural of a huge sparrow flying from an open glowing book, carrying a girl, surrounded by piles of oversized books in Chur, Switzerland.

5. I Have A Dream — Mural by Bane & Pest in Chur, Switzerland

A giant sparrow emerges from a glowing open book, carrying a girl on its back. Surrounding it are tall stacks of painted books in a dreamlike composition.

More!: Amazing Murals by 3D Master Fabian Bane (7 Photos)

Sculpture of Miles Davis made from metal scraps and chains, playing a trumpet and mounted on a stone wall in Kotor Old Town, Montenegro.

6. Miles Davis — Sculpture by Vlado Kostov in Kotor, Montenegro

Crafted from scrap metal, this detailed sculpture of Miles Davis captures the iconic trumpeter mid-performance, blending industrial materials with fluid motion.

Large mural of a woman playing a violin, her body aligned with the structure of a high-rise building in Fene, Spain.

7. Stringed Soul — Mural by SFHIR in Fene, Spain

Painted across the height of a building, a woman appears mid-performance with a giant white violin integrated into the building’s shape, her expression serene and focused.

More!: Turning Walls into Stories! 6 Murals by SFHIR

Mural of a large fox wrapped around children reading, painted above a real bookstore in Vincennes, France, with French quote about escaping through books.

8. Fox and Bookshop — Mural by HERA in Vincennes, France

A giant fox curls protectively around two children reading outside a bookstore. The quote translates: “The children asked the fox how to escape reality. He replied: it’s easy, just open a book.”

More!: HERA – Crafting Stories on Walls Around the World

Brightly colored mural of a violin on the red-brick wall of a residential building in Delft, Netherlands.

9. Violin Wall — Mural by Dopie in Delft, Netherlands

A hyper-saturated violin mural appears to float off the wall of a residential building. The stylized design gives a pop-art twist to classical music.

🔗 Follow Dopie on Instagram

Yellow gas pipes painted as a trombone with a cartoon character blowing into it, integrated into a red brick wall outside a school in New York, USA.

10. Trombone Player — Mural by Tom Bob in New York, USA

A yellow gas pipe becomes the body of a trombone, transformed by clever street art into a fun character blowing the horn, giving life to overlooked city infrastructure.

More!: 33 Cute Street Art Pieces by Creative Genius Tom Bob

More: 20 Street Art Pieces That Hit the Right Note

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5 Comments

  1. Looks like an interesting read but the moving text isnt readable (screen recording below).

    @streetartutopia@streetartutopia.com

  2. 10 Urban Art Installations That Celebrate Books and Music | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News
    June 20, 2025

    […] 10 Urban Art Installations That Celebrate Books and Music […]

    Reply

  3. @streetartutopia

    I want to play that piano!

  4. @streetartutopia@streetartutopia.com @streetartutopia@mastodon.online
    The description of number 10 is of a different piece.

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