Five must-see pieces of public art

From walls to train stations to entire villages – artists have taken ordinary surroundings and turned them into things of beauty.

Public art takes creations out of formal locations and makes them part of local communities – shifting everyday spaces into masterpieces and tourist attractions.

BBC Bitesize explores five must-see pieces of public art.

Kampung Warna-Warni Jodipan

Known as the Village of Colour, or the Rainbow Village, Kampung Warna-Warni Jodipan might be familiar to fans of Race Across the World.

In series four, Alfie and Owen visited the city of Malang, on Java, Indonesia – and took a job painting in the village of Jodipan.

Brightly coloured houses built on a hillside by a flowing river in Jodipan, Java, Indonesia — Image caption,
A local company donated paint to transform Jodipan into the Rainbow Village

Until 2016, the village was a slum and the local government were considering closing it down and moving residents elsewhere. But a group of students from a nearby university suggested giving the houses a lick of paint – literally.

Inspired by the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the village was transformed into a kaleidoscope of colours – not only instilling a fresh look but also creating a further sense of community among the villagers, revitalising the neighbourhood. The village has now also become a tourist attraction, celebrated as a living piece of art.

Stockholm Metro

Getting around Sweden’s capital on their subway system is a particularly cultural experience – it’s one of the world’s longest art exhibits.

At 110km long and with 100 stations – almost every stop on the Stockholm metro features incredible art, from murals, to statues to installations.

People waiting for their trains at a subway station. The central platform has a cave-like appearance and is painted blue in parts, with a large polyhedra made of glass centrally — Image caption,
The award-winning station features art by Lennart Mörk and opened in 1973

Region Stockholm - the local public body - believes art at the stations creates calm among commuters and the pieces reflect Sweden’s nature, history and contributions to the world.

The stop at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in the city has one of the most famous subway art pieces – celebrating the city’s scientific advances and discoveries. The station has five polyhedra on the platform – each representing one of Plato’s five elements (fire, water, air, earth and ether).

A large mural of Nelson Mandela, in yellows, blacks and purples, on the side of a building — Image caption,
The mural is 2,174 sq ft (202 sq m) and can be found in the Johannesburg suburb of Braamfontein

Nelson Mandela Mural

Artist and activist Shepard Fairey is best known for his poster in of Barack Obama’s 2008 US presidential election campaign – an iconic, primarily red and blue image with ‘hope’ as its slogan.

But Fairey is also responsible for an incredible piece of public art paying tribute to someone he described as one of his heroes.

Following the death of Nelson Mandela in 2013, Fairey was commissioned to create a piece of artwork celebrating the legacy of the former South African President.

His mural in Johannesburg, which overlooks the Nelson Mandela Bridge, was completed in 2014 and features the slogan ‘The Purple Shall Govern’ – marking the then-25th anniversary of the Purple Rain Protests, a key event in the anti-apartheid movement in the country.

Afflecks’ mosaics

For anyone in Manchester, their first trip to Afflecks – formerly Afflecks’ Palace – is a huge rite of age.

The indoor market in the city’s Northern Quarter plays host to independent stalls, shops and cafes, and has been a firm fixture since 1982.

A view of a brick wall, with five brightly coloured, rectangular mosaics in place of windows — Image caption,
The well-known Manchester mosaics were celebrated by Manchester City in the 2020/21 season, as they replicated their recognisable style in the design for their home kit

But away from the delights inside, some of Manchester’s most recognisable artwork adorns the walls.

On the Tib Street side of the building, artist Mark Kennedy’s mosaics pay tribute to legendary Mancunians, such as Emmeline Pankhurst, the Gallagher brothers of Oasis, stars of Coronation Street and the city’s football clubs.

The mosaics were removed in 2008 following a change of ownership, before Kennedy was commissioned to produce new pieces to celebrate Manchester heroes as part of the building’s 30th anniversary in 2012.

We The Youth

It was only supposed to be a temporary installation – but Keith Haring’s We The Youth remains his only collaborative public mural to remain intact on its original site.

A quintessentially pop art Haring piece, the huge mural was produced with the help of 14 high school children on the end of a row of terraced houses in Point Breeze, South Philadelphia, USA. It was originally only intended to be a temporary placeholder until new houses were constructed.

Brightly coloured figures of people, in typical Keith Haring style, surrounded by black lines to indicate movement — Image caption,
We The Youth was painted by Haring and 14 high school children over three days in September 1987

It was painted to commemorate the bicentennial of the United States Constitution in 1987, with the title ‘We The Youth’ playing on the Constitution’s opening phrase ‘We The People’ – and nodding to the young artists who ed Haring to create it.

The mural proved so popular, it became a permanent fixture, undergoing a comprehensive restoration process in 2013 designed to protect it for another 30 years.

This article was published in May 2025