Riga Open Wall Street Art Festival 2025

We don’t often have street art-related events in Latvia.

As a very small country with a population of only 1.8 million, of which 400,000 are elderly people over 65, most of society is busy surviving everyday struggles and coping with growing inflation. Because of this, many couldn’t care less about art, let alone street art and graffiti, which are mostly seen as outright vandalism. People who create graffiti are often thought to deserve jail time or heavy fines.

Latvia is a post-Soviet country, so Western culture is relatively new here and was strongly suppressed during Soviet times. To some, street art is still a misunderstood movement. That’s why I’m very glad that Riga Open Wall has brought together 16 artists from across the Baltics for such a major public event.

watch the youtube video:

Graffiti has almost always been a “young man’s game”—teen vandalism with a “f#ck you” attitude. But times have changed. Today, artists are more often in their 20s or 30s, as it takes time to master the skills needed to create impressive and creative murals with spray cans.

Also, this event isn’t held in some abandoned warehouse; it’s happening in one of the hippest spots in Riga—the Āgenskalna Market. Once a run-down local market, it has emerged from the shadow of Soviet times into a vibrant place where people gather not only to shop at the farmers’ market but also to enjoy finer things like delicious oven-baked pizza, homemade ice cream, live music, and art shows.

Āgenskalns Market

is located in Riga’s Āgenskalns neighborhood, has been a vibrant hub of trade and community life for over a century. Its origins date back to the late 19th century, when farmers and traders gathered here to sell their goods.

By the early 20th century, the market had grown in importance, and a large covered pavilion was designed by architect Reinholds Šmēlings, representing a beautiful example of Riga’s Art Nouveau architecture. Though construction was interrupted by World War I, the pavilion was finally completed in the 1920s, providing a central space for commerce and community gatherings.

Through decades of change, including Soviet times when it was a kolkhoz market, the market has remained a beloved part of the city. Recent renovations in 2022 revitalized the pavilion, turning it into a modern center for food, trading, crafts, and cultural events.

I was pleasantly surprised to see two graffiti legends from New York sharing their wild stories about how it all began. I’m talking about Mike171 and SJK171, who started tagging during the early days of the graffiti movement alongside a very well-known figure in urban history—Taki183.

The New York City graffiti movement

began in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when young people from working-class neighborhoods started marking their names and street numbers on subway cars, buses, and walls. This practice—known as “tagging”—was originally a way to gain recognition and street fame. It was also a form of rebellion and self-expression that eventually evolved into a worldwide cultural phenomenon.

Born Demetrius, Taki183 started tagging in the late 1960s, mostly using markers and pens on subway cars and station walls. His style was straightforward—his name followed by his street number—but it was his dedication and visibility that made him a legend. In 1971, The New York Times ran an article about him that brought graffiti into the public eye, sparking a city-wide explosion of tags and throw-ups.

Another pioneer of the graffiti movement, Mike171 was a contemporary of Taki183 and started tagging around the same time. Like Taki, Mike171 used his name and street number as his signature. He was known for his consistent presence in Upper Manhattan, especially around the Washington Heights neighborhood. His tags helped define the earliest generation of New York City graffiti.

Also part of the early wave of taggers, SJK171 contributed to the growing graffiti culture that transformed the city’s walls and subways into open-air canvases. His style, while straightforward, captured the raw energy of the time—a sense of claiming space in a city that often overlooked its youth. SJK171’s work stood as a testament to the rebellious and creative spirit of the graffiti pioneers.

hip-hop culture in Latvia

has seen a real boom over the the past five years. What was once an underground scene has now taken center stage thanks to several key developments.

First, media platforms embraced the genre—Latvian Radio 5 even launched a dedicated online channel called HipHop Strāva, highlighting local rap talent and giving the culture steady exposure.

Then came the festivals. Events like Straume and Positivus now showcase hip-hop on their main stages, inviting both international stars and homegrown talent. This exposure has drawn in younger audiences and fueled the scene’s momentum.

Community spaces like Ozols’ Hoodshop and grassroots events by Ghetto Games have given hip-hop artists places to gather, collaborate, and grow.

And let’s not forget the artists themselves—collaborations, new albums, and a wave of fresh talent have all pushed the scene forward.

We’ve never had so many rap artists as we do now. Some of them are present here at the street art festival, where there is a full stage dedicated to musical performances, led by our talented rapper ANSIS, who is also one of the event organizers, along with spray paint muralist Dainis Rudens. As we gain rappers and beatmakers, we also see graffiti artists emerging on the scene thanks to events like this.

I only wish the event offered more hands-on experiences for attendees. Yes, there was a small stencil printing wall mostly for kids—sponsored by local potato chip manufacturer Ādažu Čipsi, who by the way had a legendary TV commercial in the late ’90s featuring the biggest rap star Gustavo here in Riga.

There was also a screen-printing shop where you could print your own shirt, but at $20 per shirt, that felt a bit expensive. Street art has always promoted a DIY attitude—making your own stencils, stickers, and posters—so shirts shouldn’t cost $20 just to try screen printing. I hope they get bigger sponsors next time to cover paint costs, and maybe people can bring their own shirts, as they did at a different art event called SMLDZ Print Battle that I took part in—that was very cool and completely free; you just had to bring your own t-shirt.

Also, next time they could include small installations with walls of different sizes where people can express themselves with Posca markers, stencils they bring from home, stickers, canvas, and so on—a place and event where you can showcase your own art, meet other street art enthusiasts, and have a good time together.

I wish the organizers the best of luck and hope to see you all at the next street art event here in Riga! For now, I will leave one of my stickers by the back entrance to prove that I was here 🙂