Free Hong Kong Street Art seen in hidden places
Hong Kong street art transforms the city into an open-air gallery
Tony Ip – Wa On Lane Sitting Out Area, Central
Tourists love Hong Kong street art
Tourists have something to teach us: our city’s art isn’t confined to museums. For those willing to look, it surrounds us. This art is available without barrier or fee, and perhaps that is why visitors make Hong Kong street art a destination worthy of their time and phone memory.
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This year, HKWALLS held its 11th Hong Kong Street Art Festival from 21-29 March. Their success can be attributed to the ability to attract and recruit local and international artists willing to expose their work on the walls of Central and Sheung Wan.
Tom, @tsangkinhang, PMQ, 25 Aberdeen Street, Central
These efforts have been noticed, with sponsorship from The Hong Kong Tourism Board and other local businesses.
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The artists gather to create art and to be in community with one another. That is, beyond painting during the week of the festival, they share meals, ideas, designs, music and perhaps some libation.
Théo Haggaï, @theohaggai, 67 Peel St, Central
Each artist creates in their own way. Most prepare preliminary designs in advance; some cut stencils; others scale up drawings. All need to adapt to the surface they are assigned.
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In some cases, this means working on cranes or negotiating bamboo scaffolds, but for most, all that is needed is paint and a clean, wide area.
Fleks, @fleksone, 33 Wyndham Street, Central
I discovered this year’s street art by following the online map on the HKWALLS website, beginning in Lan Kwai Fong with a painting by Dutch artist Fleks (@fleksone), now based in Taipei.
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He conceived of a portal to the future with nearly fluorescent colours, a view of a cyberpunk version of our city, with infinitely tall buildings, flying MTR cars and, of course, street and graffiti art.
Théo Haggaï, @theohaggai, 33 Staunton Street, Central
French artist Théo Haggaï (@theohaggai) is an engraver and painter. Inspired by urban decay, he wanders cities seeking wall cracks and structural decay and making casts of the in-between spaces.
Rejuvenating urban decay
After carving and painting his casts, he repairs the urban decay by cementing them back into the gaps.
Théo Haggaï, @theohaggai, Ladder St, Central
His focus is on reconnecting the broken bits of our city with art. Because his work is so small, one needs to be hyper-observant to find it.
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There are 10 examples of his work around Central and Sheung Wan, but even using the HKWALLS app, I could only find 5. This exercise in forced observation helped me to look more intensely at the tiny bits of our city’s infrastructure.
Tony Ip, Wa On Lane Sitting Out Area, Central
Local architect Tony Ip’s art brings together the creatures and buildings of our city. One painting features butterfly wings that contain details of Jardine House windows; another shows a ladybird dwarfing a city skyline.
Tony Ip, Wa On Lane Sitting Out Area, Central
Both characters are portrayed with friendly eyes and leaf-green bodies, accentuating Tony’s professional orientation towards sustainable design.
Fabio Pentani, @fabiopetani, 10 Staveley Street, Central, Facade facing Wa On Lane, Central
Immediately above Tony’s murals is a 2-story work by Italian artist Fabio Petani. During a break from his painting, he spoke about his intention to strike a balance between the area’s natural flora and this mural.
Striking a balance between natural flora and a mural
At the time, most of it was behind bamboo scaffolding and netting, so I only saw what he meant after reviewing photos of the finished mural.
Fabio Petani, @fabiopetani, 10 Staveley Street, Central, Facade facing Wa On Lane, Central
Notice the large stalks rising diagonally to the right that appear to be the trunks of the trees behind the building.
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Look more closely and see how the metal fencing and the building’s contours integrate into his garden illusion. This subtlety is easily missed on first impression.
Balcony Lullaby, Enoch Wong, @enoch.wyn, 9 Shin Hing Street, Central
Enoch Wong (@enoch.wyn) is a Hong Kong-based illustrator and muralist known for his painterly street art style, combining delicate brushwork with a muted, warm-toned contemporary palette.
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His work often features cosy, everyday scenes. Balcony Lullaby, for example, captures the relaxed atmosphere of a Sunday afternoon siesta. He has also contributed to community projects, including one at Ma Wan 1868.
Victoriano, @victoriano_tx, 2 Mee Lun Street, Central
Spanish artist Victoriano (@victoriano_tx) began with graffiti and street art at age 15, working anonymously before establishing himself as Art Director for luxury brands in Spain and the UK.
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In 2009, he founded a graffiti company operating in the UK, Spain, and Hong Kong, serving clients such as Louis Vuitton, DKNY, W Hotel, Google, and Converse.
Although not commissioned this year, Victoriano participated in HKWALLS 2024 and last year’s Meeting of Styles Hong Kong.
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While searching for recent works, I discovered his new experimental cut-out piece, glued to the tiles facing the stairs in Sheung Wan.
Chill Mode On, Tom, @tsangkinhang, PMQ, 25 Aberdeen Street, Central
Tom (@tsangkinhang) is a Hong Kong–based graphic designer and illustrator whose work fuses traditional comic aesthetics with contemporary graphic design.
His style features intricate linework, vibrant colours, and dynamic compositions that create visually rich narratives, capturing people and moments with strong attention to detail and storytelling through every frame.
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At PMQ (Aberdeen Street Side), he created the mural Chill Mode On, inspired by his cats, true masters of relaxation, who’ve turned chilling into an art form.
Awie, @aweille_esti, 52-56 Staunton Street, Central
AWIE (@aweille_esti) is a Canadian mural artist, storyteller, and humanitarian based in Los Angeles, internationally recognised for his roots in traditional graffiti culture.
His work combines bold aerosol techniques with realism, shaped by years of painting in public spaces during his travels
Blending graffiti with a photo-realistic portrait
At Ming Hing House on Staunton Street, Awie created a mural that blends graffiti with a photo-realistic portrait of a child he worked with in Nepal.
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By placing his subject in an unfamiliar environment, his art bridges cultural divides and connects viewers across borders.
Drawing inspiration from photographs and conversations, his practice highlights empathy, cultural exchange, and respect for the human spirit, capturing resilience and dignity in daily life.
Hardthirteen, @hardthirteen, 23 Square St, Sheung Wan
Hardthirteen (@hardthirteen) is a Jakarta-based graffiti artist with 21 years of experience, founder of Titans Spray Paint & Nevertoolavish, known for photorealistic murals that blend humans, nature, futuristic vibes, and vibrant colours.
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His work explores movement, energy, and emotion, bringing walls to life through dynamic visuals that feel constantly in motion.
Drawing inspiration from Bruce Lee’s philosophy “Be Water, My Friend”, this mural blurs the line between street culture, graphic design, and storytelling.
Tron, @traun834 & X-dog, @ondrej_vyhnanek, Sheung Wan (Draft)
While not officially part of HKWALLS, two Czech artists collaborated on a hoarding mural in Sheung Wan at the initiative of the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Hong Kong.
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Ondřej Vyhnánek (X-DOG, @ondrej_vyhnanek) combines classical art education with contemporary animation, graphics, and digital media, exploring nature and human society through 3D animation and video mapping.
Tron, @traun834 & X-dog, @ondrej_vyhnanek, Sheung Wan
Michal Škapa (TRON, @traun834) emerged in the 1990s as a leading graffiti writer and now works with murals, airbrush, acrylic abstractions, neon, and light installations.
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His interactive Magic Mirror installation at Art Central 2026 turned visitors’ motions into dynamic digital art.
Together, they created this mural inspired by urban structures.
Leho, @lehoartwork, Gogo Van
During festival week, the artists gathered to talk, paint, party, listen to music, and create together. I enjoyed watching them work and seeing years of practice transform plain walls into Hong Kong street art.
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Appreciating their art requires our attention, a scarce commodity in this busy city.
HKWALLS has created places worthy of our attention. Our tourists lead by example in gathering, taking photos and selfies with Hong Kong street art, and sharing their connection to the artists.
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These visitors remind us that our city’s art isn’t confined to museums. For those willing to look, it’s everywhere. And that’s why tourists consider Hong Kong street art a destination worthy of their time and phone memory.
Text and photos Martin Wray
