culture
Three Brussels Street Artists Transform Neighborhoods Through Mural Storytelling
Three local painters trace family roots and neighbourhood shifts in new works across the Marolles and Schaerbeek.
How we reported this
A 12-metre mural on the side of a former textile warehouse in the Marolles shows three generations of a single family at a kitchen table, completed on 28 June by painters from the area.
Street art in Brussels has gained fresh attention this summer because residents seek visible records of daily life while national budgets for cultural projects face review ahead of the 2027 municipal elections. Murals now function as fixed points in neighbourhoods undergoing rapid rent increases and small-business turnover.
Family histories on the walls
The Marolles piece was led by the Brussels Murals Collective, a group formed in 2019 that secured wall access through the city’s Place du Jeu de Balle market authority. Painters Malik Bouazza and Sara Vercauteren worked from photographs supplied by Bouazza’s aunt, who still lives two streets away on Rue Haute. They added a fourth figure only after a neighbour at the market recognised herself in an early sketch and asked to be included. In Schaerbeek, the same collective finished a second mural last week on the blind wall of a primary school on Avenue Rogier. That work records the 1990s closure of three local factories and the arrival of new residents from North Africa and Eastern Europe.
Budgets and visitor numbers
City records show the Brussels urban-art budget reached €265,000 for 2026, covering 51 new or restored murals at an average cost of €5,200 each. The same documents list 87 guided walks booked through the tourist office between January and June, each limited to 25 participants at €12 per ticket. The collective reports that 14 of the 51 works this year were painted by artists who grew up inside the postal codes 1000 and 1030.
Guided walks of both new murals start from the Place du Jeu de Balle information kiosk on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. through the end of August. Advance booking is required through the city’s online portal.