30 UK Murals Hidden in Art UK’s 6,600-Mural Archive

Art UK’s mural guide now points readers to more than 6,600 murals across the UK. This Street Art Utopia selection highlights 30 walls in Bristol, Aberdeen, Glasgow, London, Cardiff, Sheffield, Manchester, New Brighton and Exeter — from local-history tributes and giant animals to protest pieces, optical tricks and everyday street companions.

💡 Nerd Fact: The archive is also a rescue mission. Colossal notes that Art UK volunteers spent more than 5,000 hours locating and photographing works, partly because public walls can vanish through weather, repainting, redevelopment or simple neglect.

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🕳️ Falling Shadows — By STRØK in Aberdeen, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

At Rosemount Viaduct, Anders Gjennestad, also known as STRØK, turns a plain Aberdeen wall into a gravity test. Aberdeen Inspired’s mural trail describes the multi-layer stencilled figures as casting long shadows while looking both lifelike and gravity-defying.

💡 Nerd Fact: STRØK’s street work starts before the stencil knife. Urban Nation says Anders Gjennestad bases his cutouts on photographs he takes first, then translates those moments into detailed stencil layers for the street.

More: By STRØK in Aberdeen, Scotland (5 photos)

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🦊 The Giant Fox — By ROA in Bristol, England 🇬🇧

ROA painted this huge animal on Nelson Street during See No Evil 2012. StreetArtNews documented ROA’s Bristol wall, and Upfest’s See No Evil page describes the project as transforming Nelson Street with colour in 2011 and again in 2012. ROA’s rough black-and-white anatomy makes the building feel small by comparison.

💡 Nerd Fact: See No Evil was not just a painting weekend. Upfest says its production crew worked 24 hours a day for 10 days, coordinating artists, access equipment and site safety to turn Nelson Street into a giant outdoor gallery.

More: By ROA in Bristol, UK

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🪞 Through the Glass — By Liam Bononi in Manchester, England 🇬🇧

Liam Bononi fills a narrow wall at 17 Newton Street with a face, a raised hand and a cracked-glass effect. In the artist’s Manchester post, the wall is tied to Spray Days; soft highlights sit against a tense scene, like someone caught behind a reflection.

💡 Nerd Fact: Bononi’s polished portraits come from old-school graffiti roots. His own bio says the Brazilian artist, now based in the UK, began his graffiti career in 2007 and built his style around dramatic, theatrical expression.

More: By Liam Bononi in Manchester (5 photos and video)

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👋 “WELCOME” — By PEJAC in Aberdeen, Scotland 🇬🇧

At 41 Union Street, PEJAC’s Nuart Aberdeen 2022 intervention starts as a welcome mat and then reveals tiny people inside it. The artist’s own page places WELCOME at the doorstep, while Aberdeen Inspired notes how the figures form the word before dispersing.

💡 Nerd Fact: The location gives “welcome” extra weight. Colossal reports that PEJAC placed the work at the entrance to a building connected with charities and vulnerable residents, turning a polite doorstep word into a social question.

More: The Importance of an Open and Heartfelt Welcome by PEJAC for Nuart in Aberdeen, Scotland

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⛏️ The Quarry Worker — By Martin Whatson in Aberdeen, Scotland 🇬🇧

At Virginia Street, Martin Whatson turns Aberdeen’s granite history into a bright tribute. Aberdeen Inspired says the work was inspired by quarry workers outside the city, with the pop of colour standing for the energy local people and businesses bring to the Granite City.

💡 Nerd Fact: Whatson is not a one-off Nuart visitor. Inspiring City notes that the Norwegian artist has been on the graffiti scene since the late 1990s and had already painted at Nuart Stavanger and the first Nuart Aberdeen festival in 2017.

More: The Quarry Worker: Tribute to the City’s Granite Workers by Martin Whatson

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🐻 Animals at the Table — By The Rebel Bear in Glasgow, Scotland 🇬🇧

The Rebel Bear described this COP26 piece in his own post as an adaptation of an earlier work, expanded with more animals joining the protest. Animals sit at the table, not as background decoration but as the ones with the most at stake; the Glasgow versions were reported at 84 Sauchiehall Street and 717 Great Western Road.

💡 Nerd Fact: COP26 was not just a theme; it was physically happening in the city. UN Climate Change records that the summit ran at Glasgow’s Scottish Event Campus from 31 October to 12 November 2021, putting street protest and official diplomacy in the same urban frame.

More: The Rebel Bear and His Animals on the Climate Crisis at COP26

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💧 The Crying Eye — By My Dog Sighs in Cardiff, Wales 🇬🇧

On Northcote Lane, off City Road, My Dog Sighs turns one of his signature eyes into a Ukraine solidarity piece. Brooklyn Street Art reported the artist’s focus on the reflection in a Ukrainian woman’s eye; The Cardiffian identified Saint Sophia Cathedral and a fire cloud inside the reflection.

💡 Nerd Fact: Saint Sophia Cathedral is not just a Kyiv landmark. UNESCO describes it as an early 11th-century monument with a major preserved collection of mosaics and frescoes, so the tiny architectural reference carries a whole layer of cultural memory.

More: Beautiful Artwork of a Crying Eye Featuring Ukraine’s Flag and Capital Kyiv

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🐶 Wall Dog — By WOSKerski in Penge, London, England 🇬🇧

The brick wall now reads like a giant pet portrait. WOSKerski paints the dog with enough presence that it feels ready to step off the wall and demand snacks.

💡 Nerd Fact: Penge has become a street-art destination through community persistence, not a single commission. London Calling Blog says its SprayExhibition20 project has filled Penge and neighbouring Anerley with more than 1,150 artworks around SE20.

More: Dog by WOSKerski in Penge

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📸 A Photo Opportunity — By WOSKerski in London, England 🇬🇧

Made for SprayExhibition20, WOSKerski turns the wall into a joke about how we pose for pictures and document everything. The piece asks to be photographed, then laughs a little at the whole routine.

💡 Nerd Fact: WOSKerski was not parachuted in for one gag wall. London Calling Blog documented a half-dozen WOSKerski additions to Penge and Anerley in 2021 alone, calling them part of the same community street-art project.

More: A Photo Opportunity — WOSKerski in London

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⚪ 3D Pearls — By Sofles on Deptford Pearls in London, England 🇬🇧

Sofles’ painted pearls sit on the long-running Deptford Pearls landmark on Deptford High Street. Artmongers traces the original mural back to Deptford X in 2001, when Patricio Forrester first painted the two chimney-like figures that became a local icon; the newer 3D pearl treatment makes that landmark pop again.

💡 Nerd Fact: Deptford X is older than many Instagram-era mural festivals. The festival says it was founded in 1998 and is one of the UK’s longest-running visual arts festivals, which makes the 2001 Deptford Pearls part of a much longer local art ecology.

More: New 3D Pearls on the Deptford Landmark in London

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🐈 Big Ginger Kitten — By Mr Meana in London, England 🇬🇧

Mr Meana lets the real building do some of the work. The ginger kitten uses the wall like a climbing frame, making the street feel as if it has been borrowed by a very large cat.

💡 Nerd Fact: Mr Meana is the alias of Mark Meana, a UK graffiti artist from Hitchin. Hitchin Nub News profiled him as a local artist whose work has travelled far beyond his hometown walls.

More: Cat in London, UK

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⚡ Neon Cat — By David Speed in London, England 🇬🇧

David Speed’s cat is all glow and attitude. The artist describes his signature approach as fluorescent, neon-style painting, and London Calling Blog documented his Shoreditch run of cats and portraits. Pink and blue paint sits against the brick arches like neon light, giving the space around it a late-night charge.

💡 Nerd Fact: Speed’s artist statement is not only about glow. His bio says his work is centred on identity, connection and untold stories, which is why even the simplest animal wall can feel more like a character than a decoration.

More: Cat in London by Neon Artist David Speed

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✏️ More Powerful Than… — By IGANA in London, England 🇬🇧

At Rivington Street / Great Eastern Street, IGANA makes the pencil feel heavy enough to aim. Supported by London Mural Festival and Global Street Art, the black-and-white figure keeps the message plain: drawing is not decoration here; it is the force in the image.

💡 Nerd Fact: The title echoes a phrase with theatre roots. The Phrase Finder traces “the pen is mightier than the sword” to Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s 1839 play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy.

More: More Powerful Than… Mural by IGANA in London, UK

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🖤 Gate Portrait — By Abraham.O in London, England 🇬🇧

Abraham.O keeps this portrait close and quiet. London Calling Blog has documented his grey-scale portrait work around London, and the black-and-white detail here works across the gate and wall, so the street surface becomes part of the face.

💡 Nerd Fact: Abraham.O is part of London’s international mural scene. London Calling Blog identifies him as a UK-based Salvadoran street artist and notes that he has mixed spray paint with roller and brush techniques in his portrait work.

More: Mural by Abraham O in London, UK

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💫 Princess of Peckham — By MR CENZ in London, England 🇬🇧

At the Prince of Peckham on Clayton Road, MR CENZ brings his cosmic portrait style to a high-profile pub wall. Southwark News has noted that the pub’s side walls have hosted MR CENZ pieces; here, colour, curve and glow cover the building, and at night the mural reads almost like a sign for a different version of the street.

💡 Nerd Fact: MR CENZ’s career goes back to pre-internet graffiti culture. His official bio says he discovered hip-hop culture and graffiti in 1984 and secured his first commissioned mural at the age of 11.

More: New Princess of Peckham by MR CENZ in London

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👁️ Green-Haired Portrait — By Irony in London, England 🇬🇧

Painted for SprayExhibition20, Irony’s portrait hits hard at close range. The face, bright green hair and sharp realism make it look as if someone is pushing through the wall surface.

💡 Nerd Fact: Irony paints large, but the process is unusually painterly for spray work. Upfest’s artist bio describes Irony as self-taught and says the freehand spray-paint approach can retain the softness of oil painting.

More: Street Art Portrait by Irony in London, UK

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🔴 “DREAM” 🔵 — By INSANE 51 in Bristol, England 🇬🇧

On the Tobacco Factory wall on North Street, INSANE 51’s “DREAM” layers Nyx holding Selene, as the artist confirms in his own post. Inspiring City documented the wall as part of Upfest’s 75 Walls project, and Upfest describes INSANE 51’s double-exposure 3D technique. Bring the red-and-blue glasses.

💡 Nerd Fact: The title hides a mythology pairing: Nyx is the Greek personification of night, while Selene is the moon personified as a goddess. That turns the mural into night literally holding the moon.

More: “DREAM” by INSANE 51 at Upfest in Bristol, UK

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🦉 Pink Wisdom — By Tech Moon in Bristol, England 🇬🇧

Art UK catalogues the Bristol Upfest work simply as “Owl” by Tech Moon, c.2022, from Clift House Road. “Pink Wisdom” fits the magenta gaze: Tech Moon keeps the feathers graphic and bright, giving the bird a festival-wall presence without overcomplicating it.

💡 Nerd Fact: The owl is part of a wider bird-heavy practice. Tech Moon’s own wall portfolio includes other avian murals, from kingfishers to eagles, so this Bristol owl sits inside a recurring natural-world thread.

More: Pink Wisdom by Tech Moon at Upfest in Bristol, UK

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🦜 Parrot Wall — By Curtis Hylton in Bristol, England 🇬🇧

At Jans Barbers on East Street, Curtis Hylton’s parrot was part of Upfest 2022. Inspiring City described it as a giant yellow-orange parrot and noted how Hylton’s work blends the natural world, flora and fauna. The wall feels briefly taken over by nature.

💡 Nerd Fact: Curtis Hylton had already become a familiar Upfest name before this bird landed. Inspiring City notes that he had created Upfest murals in both 2020 and 2021, making the 2022 parrot part of an ongoing Bristol festival relationship.

More: Parrot Mural by Curtis Hylton for UPFEST in Bristol, UK

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🕯️ Prepare to Be Illuminated — By Elle Koziupa in Sheffield, England 🇬🇧

On London Road, Street Art Sheffield catalogues the mural as “Joan of Arc,” created in 2023 by locally based British-Ukrainian artist Elle Koziupa; My Modern Met covered the same piece under the title “Prepare to be illuminated.” The candlelit centre makes the wall feel quiet and warm, a small pause in the middle of the street.

💡 Nerd Fact: Joan of Arc’s afterlife is almost as famous as her lifetime. Britannica notes that she was executed in 1431, canonized in 1920 and is regarded as a patron saint of France and soldiers.

More: Prepare to Be Illuminated by Elle Koziupa in Sheffield, UK

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✨ Gold Wall — By Rosie Woods in London, England 🇬🇧

On Old Street, Rosie Woods turns gold fabric-like forms into a street-scale study. Her own site lists it as Old Street Mural, and Inspiring City connects the wall to the wider Hyper Gold direction of digital modelling, luminous form and physical paint.

💡 Nerd Fact: “Hyper Gold” became more than a wall idea. Inspiring City reports that Woods’ first solo exhibition at BSMT Space brought together digital-inspired gold paintings exploring the relationship between art and technology.

More: New Murals: London, Bristol and More

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🚸 “Stop Bullying” — By GOIN in Bristol, England 🇬🇧

On the wall of The Spotted Cow pub, with Art UK placing the work on South Street, GOIN’s “Stop Bullying” keeps the message clear. Street Art Cities notes the mostly black-and-white palette, with the red boxing gloves carrying the weight of the subject. No need to decode this one.

💡 Nerd Fact: The wall also moved into print culture. GOIN’s official site lists a June 2024 open-edition “STOP BULLYING” print release connected to the Bristol work, showing how a street message can keep travelling after the mural is finished.

More: New Murals: London, Bristol and More

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🎻 Rupert Engledow — By Liam Bononi in Bristol, England 🇬🇧

At 83 Lime Road, Liam Bononi paints street violinist Rupert Engledow in motion. Art UK records the piece under Engledow’s name, and Inspiring City’s Upfest 2024 roundup notes that Bononi had photographed the musician performing in York before bringing the memory to the wall.

💡 Nerd Fact: This mural quickly entered the UK mural conversation beyond Bristol. Inspiring City included Bononi’s portrait of Rupert Engledow in its Greatest UK Murals of 2024 voting roundup.

More: New Murals: London, Bristol and More

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🕹️ Blaze from Streets of Rage — By Van Jimmer in London, England 🇬🇧

Van Jimmer gives Grey Eagle Street a punch of retro game energy with Blaze from Streets of Rage. LDNGraffiti documented the Streets of Rage jam with Van Jimmer among the artists. Bold color, hard edges and a fighting pose make the brickwork feel briefly 16-bit.

💡 Nerd Fact: Blaze is not a random side character. In a PlayStation Blog feature on Streets of Rage 4, Lizardcube notes that Blaze Fielding has appeared in every game since the series began.

More: Mural of Blaze from Streets of Rage by Van Jimmer in London

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🦮 Guide Dogs — By ACHES in New Brighton, England 🇬🇧

On Virginia Road in New Brighton, ACHES uses misaligned colour layers to honour the Guide Dogs charity. Local coverage notes the mural was unveiled for the charity’s 90th anniversary in the town linked to the first British guide dogs in 1931, and Art UK records the same work from Virginia Road.

💡 Nerd Fact: The location is historically perfect. Guide Dogs’ own history says Muriel Crooke and Rosamund Bond organised the training of the first four British guide dogs from a lock-up garage in Wallasey, Merseyside, in 1931.

More: Guide Dogs by ACHES in New Brighton

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👁️ The City Looks Back — By My Dog Sighs in London, England 🇬🇧

Another My Dog Sighs eye, but with a different mood. Art UK describes his signature eye works as each carrying a unique reflection; here the metal surface is part of the face, and the tiny reflection details make the city seem to stare back.

💡 Nerd Fact: My Dog Sighs built a public following by giving art away before the murals got huge. His artist bio says he spent 10 years giving work away for free through the Free Art Friday project.

More: Mural by My Dog Sighs in London, UK

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🗣️ “SPEAK YA MIND” — By .EPOD in Glasgow, Scotland 🇬🇧

At SWG3’s Yardworks Festival 2023, artist .EPOD makes the wall loud on purpose. SWG3’s official 2023 page lists .EPOD among the artists who gathered at Galvanizers Yard, and Yardworks’ own post places “SPEAK YA MIND” on the wall opposite Yard Life Gallery. Glasgow does not need this one whispered.

💡 Nerd Fact: Yardworks 2023 was also a turning point for the festival’s infrastructure. SWG3’s guide says more than 100 artists came to the event and that the edition marked the launch of Yardworks Studio, a purpose-built space for artists, youth and community organisations.

More: Glasgow Mural City: Walls Everywhere

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🐕 Doberman Energy — By FROD in Glasgow, Scotland 🇬🇧

For this Yardworks wall, FROD / Frodrik brings a high-impact dog portrait into graffiti-lettering territory. The green Doberman-style dog looks sharp and alert, with graffiti texture around it that makes the whole piece feel ready to bark.

💡 Nerd Fact: FROD is a local name in the Glasgow mural scene, not just a festival visitor. Frodrik’s site describes him as a Glasgow-based mural artist with more than 10 years of mural-art experience.

More: Glasgow Mural City: Walls Everywhere

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🎵 No Music on a Dead Planet — By STATIC in Manchester, England 🇬🇧

Art UK identifies this Manchester mural as “No Music on a Dead Planet” by STATIC, based on Peter Saville’s Joy Division “Unknown Pleasures” design. It was unveiled on Moorfield Street in Withington for Music Declares Emergency’s campaign, which reworked the pulsar lines into flat lines for the climate message.

💡 Nerd Fact: The famous album-cover lines began as science data, not graphic decoration. The Science Museum Group records that Unknown Pleasures uses 100 consecutive pulses from CP1919, the first pulsar discovered, now known as PSR1919+21.

More: No Music on a Dead Planet

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🐾 Springer Spaniel on Exe Bridge — By Spacehop in Exeter, England 🇬🇧

On Exe Bridge, Spacehop turns the bridge into a resting place for one enormous dog. The 2017 spaniel, credited to Spacehop, also known as Jeff Evans, in the Street Art Utopia photo set, blends with the slope and steps so neatly that the bridge becomes part of the animal.

💡 Nerd Fact: “Spacehop” also has roots in documenting graffiti, not only making it. In a New Urban Era profile, Jeff Evans says that after moving to Exeter he began photographing graffiti, which turned into the old Spacehop website before he started painting himself.

More: Springer Spaniel Painted on Exe Bridge

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Which one is your favorite?