Books Take You Anywhere (8 Photos)

When Books Open Bigger Worlds

Books climb walls, open fantasy libraries beneath pavements, and light up tiny sidewalk corners. From Gurjaani to Dublin, these eight works go far beyond the page.

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📚 “Concrete Horizons” — By Edoardo Ettorre in Gurjaani, Georgia 🇬🇪

Painted in Gurjaani as part of Tbilisi Mural Fest’s 2026 program, Concrete Horizons revisits a composition Ettorre used in Parenti, Italy, in 2025. A stack of books becomes a foothold for looking beyond a concrete barrier. Find the mural in Gurjaani.

💡 Nerd Fact: Ettorre’s archive includes an earlier Orizzonti di cemento painted in Montesilvano in 2022. ANSA records the Gurjaani mural under the same Italian title and notes that it was supported by the Italian Embassy in Georgia.

More: 14 Times Books Became Street Art

📷 Image source: Tbilisi Mural Fest · 🔗 Follow Edoardo Ettorre

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🕳️ “Lose Yourself in the Library” — By 3D Joe & Max in Dublin, Ireland 🇮🇪

Created for Dublin City Libraries’ Lose Yourself in the Library campaign, this anamorphic installation measured 6 × 3 metres and turned the Henry Street–Liffey Street junction into a deep fantasy library. It was displayed there on 3 November 2022.

💡 Nerd Fact: Dublin City Libraries described the Henry Street appearance as a one-day display and stated that it hoped to show the installation again at one of its library branches.

More: Step Into 8 More 3D Worlds by Joe & Max

📷 Image source: Dublin City Libraries · 🔗 Follow 3D Joe & Max

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✨ “Philanagnosia” — By WD (Wild Drawing) in Grenoble, France 🇫🇷

Created at ARaymond, 113 Cours Berriat, for Street Art Fest Grenoble-Alpes 2025, WD uses the building’s architecture to place a young reader inside a giant book, beside an owl and an ornate opening into another world. The artist described the work as a statement that reading nourishes the imagination, sharpens the mind, and is something every child deserves.

💡 Nerd Fact: In education research, philanagnosia is defined as a love of reading and the gradually cultivated relationship between a child and books.

More: See 8 More 3D Murals by WD

📷 Image source: Street Art Fest Grenoble-Alpes · 🔗 Follow WD

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⛵ “Dream of Freedom” — By Juandres Vera in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France 🇫🇷

Painted in 2023 at 5 Place de Picardie for Boulogne-sur-Mer’s open-air street-art program, this anamorphic mural grew from Vera’s interest in José de San Martín, who died in the city in 1850, and in the “Maxims” he wrote for his daughter Merceditas. The paper boat is folded from an Argentine banknote bearing San Martín’s portrait, linking the image to both Argentina and Boulogne’s fishing history.

💡 Nerd Fact: The puffin links this mural to another work on Boulogne-sur-Mer’s trail. According to the municipality, Vera included it as a reference to AKUT’s mural on Rue du Fort Rouge, a work about marine pollution and overfishing.

More: See Dream of Freedom From Every Angle

📷 Image source: Juandres Vera · 🔗 Follow Juandres Vera

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👀 “Strahinja” — By Wuper Kec in Viborg, Denmark 🇩🇰

Painted in spring 2025 on Lille Sankt Hans Gade, Strahinja was produced by Galleri Grisk with BoligViborg and Viborg UNESCO Creative City – Media Arts. The barefoot boy and oversized wooden chair fill the gable, while his lowered gaze keeps the scene centered on the open book.

💡 Nerd Fact: Viborg joined UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in 2019 as Denmark’s and the Nordic region’s first Creative City of Media Arts. The city’s media-art fields include film, photography, games, augmented reality, and virtual reality.

More: See More Childhood Murals by Wuper Kec

📷 Image source: Wuper Kec · 🔗 Follow Wuper Kec

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🪜 “Stairway to Knowledge” — By JanIsDeMan in Utrecht, the Netherlands 🇳🇱

Painted across the exterior stairwell walls of the Sjoerd Groenman Building at Padualaan 14, this 2025 mural was initiated by student members of Utrecht University’s University Council. Students submitted favorite scientific and leisure titles, turning the painted stacks into a portrait of campus life.

💡 Nerd Fact: The project used Dutch NPO education funds intended to support student wellbeing after the pandemic. The idea was inspired by Philadelphia, the hometown of former University Council student member Matias Edelstein.

More: 8 More 3D Worlds by JanIsDeMan

📷 Image source: JanIsDeMan · 🔗 Follow JanIsDeMan

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🪴 “An Evening of Adventure” — By David Zinn in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA 🇺🇸

David Zinn made this temporary installation in Ann Arbor on 8 June 2021 using chalk, charcoal, and an upside-down flowerpot. Nadine, one of his recurring street characters, settles into a tiny reading nook for the evening.

💡 Nerd Fact: Zinn identifies Nadine as “a mouse of adventure”. She later became the subject of an interactive booklet that pairs 12 photographs with chapter titles and blank pages where readers can write the missing stories.

More: More Tiny Street Worlds by David Zinn

📷 Image source: David Zinn · 🔗 Visit Zinn Art

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🌍 “DaFlemingo for 108 St. Edwards” — By Darion Fleming (DaFlemingo) in Brooklyn, New York, USA 🇺🇸

Delivered in August 2025, Darion Fleming’s mural covers 3,795 square feet and rises 100 feet at 108 St. Edwards Street. A schoolgirl steadies a vertical stack of books topped by a globe, a teddy bear in a graduation cap, and a pigeon.

💡 Nerd Fact: The building is the 11-story Fort Greene Family Center, which provides 105 units of transitional housing for families with children.

More: More Street Art for Book Lovers (14 Photos)

📷 Image source: WXLLSPACE · 🔗 Follow DaFlemingo

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Which one is your favorite?