Street art with a strong personality

Street art with a strong personality
Los Angeles, London, Mexico, Barcelona, Brussels and soon Schiphol: Spanish artist BTOY has been commissioned to add street art to the airport's administrative areas. She will paint beautiful portraits on the electrical enclosures dotted around the airport.

Street art is temporary, so it's essential to commission work from new artists regularly, reasons Anna Stolyarova, who has invited the Spanish artist to Schiphol. As the director of the Street Art Museum of Amsterdam, Anna is partially responsible for the introduction of street art at the airport.

Uruguayan father
As of 2016, three artists have been active in the areas: Oak Oak, Sandrine and Orticanoodles. They are known for including subtle messages and little jokes in their street art. However, Anna explains that BTOY uses a different approach: 'She has a strong personality and wants to use her street art to make a statement.' This is not by accident – although she herself was born in Barcelona, her Uruguayan father was an activist who was forced to fled the dictatorial regime in his country.

Electrical enclosures
BTOY started her career on the streets of Barcelona. Many of her works depict famous people who stood up for women's rights. Anna: 'She uses a stencilling technique and her paintings are stylised, highly detailed and very precise. This is also necessary, because her street art will adorn the electrical enclosures dotted around the administrative areas. Street artists prefer to paint entire murals, but BTOY is able to work on small surfaces and cover them with beautiful and detailed works of art.'

Street art tour
Obviously, the new street art will be included in the monthly Office Walk With a Twist tour. During this tour, Anna will guide you past various works of art and provide information about them. The nice thing about street art is that sometimes you don't even notice it. Once it's pointed out to you, however, it makes you look at the area through different eyes.

A number of works by the first street artist, Oak Oak, will be removed imminently, while Sandrine's works of art will be retouched one more time. Anna: 'Constant renewal keeps things interesting for everyone. If you've been on a tour before, you could go again one year later and it would be completely different. The same goes for Schiphol, which is constantly in flux.'

Help us decide
BTOY will paint five street art pieces in Schiphol CBD and another five in Schiphol-East. The latter development is a new one, as it will be the first street art there. As a bonus, members of the Spot community will help decide which portraits go in which area. Members can choose from a shortlist of inspirational thinkers, entrepreneurs and famous people. Stay tuned for more information…

Would you like to know more about street art at Schiphol? You can read all about it in this interview with Anna Stolyarova from 2017: https://spotschiphol.nl/nl/news/anna-stolyarova-talks-about-illegal-art-in-a-corporate-environment

Would you like to enjoy the pieces of Oak Oak and Sandrine one last time before they are removed? Sign up for the next Office Walk With a Twist on 24 April: https://spotschiphol.nl/en/events/office-walk-with-a-twist-9

Annick Oosterlee

Community Manager
Schiphol Real Estate
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