Open/Close City Centre Street Art Trail

artwork by Thing Thing

The weather’s getting warmer, the sun is shining and the Beast from The East is now a distant memory. So, what better time to go out and see some cool artwork around Dundee city centre?

Open/Close is an immersive street art trail in Dundee run by Russell Pepper, consisting of 18 doors painted by 18 local artists. There’s also another Open/Close trail around the Stobswell area of the city with brand new artwork completed in time for Dundee Design Month. (Look out for my upcoming blog post on the new street art trail!)

(Artists from top left to bottom right: Indie Matharu; C.Gull; Bleach Artwork; Fizz Yann; BFL; Gregor Thomson.)

The city centre trail takes less than an hour to walk around, so it’s perfect for a Saturday afternoon or if you just have some time to kill. The Open/Close website has an interactive map of the trail and when viewed full screen on a phone, it opens on the Google Maps app, allowing you to easily navigate between the different artworks. The route is a big loop around the city centre done in numerical order from door number 1 to 18, so it’s really easy to get around with the maps app. Alternatively, places like The Bach and DCA sell maps for both trails for about £1.

(Image via Google.)

Open/Close works with local artists to infuse the city’s forgotten alleyways and backstreets with colour, life and vibrancy. Not only does it add to the character of the city and brighten up disused spaces, the project actively discourages vandalism by making use of open public spaces to create immersive, stunning artworks that we can all enjoy.

(Artists from top left to bottom right: Thing Thing; Tytus Skafander; Indie Matharu; Stug Artwork; Islay Spalding; Lindsey Brown; Steven Sinclair.)

Open/Close hope that the trail will encourage tourists and Dundee locals alike to get out and explore the city in new and exciting ways. And it's certainly allowed me to get to know parts of the city centre I’ve never seen before. Who knew there were so many quaint, cobbled lanes and shortcuts around Dundee?!

As the city continues to carve out its creative identity, projects like Open/Close help to showcase Dundee’s wealth of art and design. And with the opening of the V&A in September, it’s the perfect time to do these art trails and see a new side of Dundee.

(Artists in order of appearance: Kathie Guthrie; Whimsical Lush; Paco Graff; John Fraser; Skye; Johanna Tunner.)

With potential plans in the works for more artistic projects in the city, Open/Close are certainly painting the city in a new light to highlight creative local talent.

Have you done either of the Open/Close trails? I'd love to know your thoughts, so why not leave me a comment below?

Interested in the design activity happening in Dundee? Why not check out my posts on Dundee Fashion Week and Dundee Design Month.