Although Chichester isn’t the most obvious place to seek out street art, it’s a case of quality rather than quantity that you can find there. It doesn’t have the vibrancy of Brighton, but thanks to a street art festival in 2013 there are some large pieces by renowned international artists dotted around the city.
Chichester street art tour route
I visit Chichester all the time but have never dedicated time just for street art, until now. My friend Jo came to visit and as a fellow lover of murals I offered to give her a tour of the city’s art hotspots. Here is our route in case you want to check them out too!
Cathedral Garage
The first stop is the Cathedral Garage on the corner of Spitalfield Lane and St Pancras. If you’re driving then you can pull over and park for a couple of minutes on the road to admire the large mural of horses by Brazilian artist Nunca. The piece is quite worn these days, probably from the constant traffic which passes by. I’d driven past myself so many times over the years so it was nice to stop and look properly.
Nunca : Instagram Wikipedia page
St Richards Hospital
If you’re walking or driving to Northgate to properly start the tour then it’s worth swinging by St Richards Hospital in Spitalfield Lane where Worthing artist Horace has recently painted a series of murals.
They are to support the great work of the NHS and its workers and can be found at the main Outpatients entrance, to the right of the covered walkway. You can see more of them in the gallery at the bottom and if you’d like to read more about Horace’s work then head over to Tea & Cake For The Soul where Jo has written a blog all about Worthing Street Art.
Northgate
We then parked in the Northgate long term car park which is next to the Chichester Festival Theatre to do the rest of the tour on foot. We carefully crossed over into the middle of the big Northgate roundabout for the next group of murals.
This large mural is by Run (real name Giacomo Bufarini) who is originally from Italy but now lives in London. He has painted all over the world including China and Senegal.
This next piece is barely visible from the road despite its huge size. It is on the side of Metro House and is by Phlegm, a Welsh-born artist from Sheffield.
If you carry on past the Phlegm into the inner quadrangle there’s a cat tucked away, by Hitnesio.
Hitnesio : Instagram
Theirry Noir was born in France but moved to Germany in 1982 and is credited as being the first artist to paint on the Berlin Wall. His iconic, simple characters are easily recognisable and it’s a massive shame that this piece is mainly invisible to the thousands of cars which pass by every day as it’s hidden behind a couple of trees.
Thierry Noir website Instagram
Just around the corner is another impressive Liqen, with stunning detail which is best appreciated up close. I’d seen many photos of this mural online but in person it is awesome. The chimneys are painted in a 3D style, it really does ‘pop’.
Walls walk around Priory Park
To get to the next mural we walked along the Roman walls through Priory Park. Just outside the main park entrance is this hummingbird mural by Samo. I met Samo last year at a street art evening at the East Pallent Gallery, he’s from Southsea and you can follow him on Instagram here.
I would recommend heading back up Priory Lane to the corner of Priory Park to walk up the slope to the walls in the North / East quadrant. Leave the park opposite East Walls and head up the steps to the next section of the walls which take you to Eastgate Square. From there head towards Baffins car park which is home to a few murals.
Baffins Lane car park
The first mural in Baffins Lane car park is by ROA, an artist from Ghent in Belgium who has painted all over the world including New Zealand, Australia and New York.
It’s an incredibly impressive piece of work depicting two birds on the side of a building, with some lovely detail in the feathers.
Tucked around the corner is a gate featuring an owl by Dscreet. He has painted internationally for over 25 years and his work is featured in books, films and galleries in Europe, India, South America, Australia, Africa and beyond.
Dscreet : Instagram
East Pallant
If you leave Baffins Lane car park via an archway on the easterly side you’ll arrive in East Pallant. There you’ll find a group of murals, featuring a large dog by Joachim.
Joachim : Instagram
Next to the dog are two smaller pieces, the first is this cute one by JPS Artist. He is from Weston-Super-Mare and has painted in Norway and America, amongst others. Not surprisingly he was inspired by Banksy and his stencil art very much has a Banksy feel.
Next, we have this girl letting off a Brexit balloon. I’m not sure who it’s by but I did have a cryptic comment about it – so if anyone knows then do let me know. Or can give me a clue as I’m happy to preserve anonymity.
JPS Artist : Instagram Interview
Head north up East Pallent and just before you reach East Street is this iconic Stik mural. Stik is a prominent British artist based in London, who has painted his simple, socially conscious stick characters all over the world.
Stik Wikipedia page Instagram
West Pallant
Finally on this particular tour, is this rainbow cat which is another piece by JPS Artist. You can find it just in West Pallent, on the corner with South Street.
Bonus Art
While you’re in the South Street area, take a quick detour to Confucious restaurant which is tucked away in Cooper Street. There is this lovely colourful piece on the wall outside.
And finally… no tour of Chichester street art would be complete without having a drink and burger in Bangerz & Burgerz. It’s an amazing new burger joint in South Street and features work by many top south coast artists including Fark, Snub, Roo and Mister Samo. The piece below is by @berkmidlifecrisis who also painted the ceiling! If you look closely you’ll see my Instagram profile name on the ceiling, @scootergirlie!
And that concludes our Chichester street art tour. I know from Instagram there are more murals to be found so if you know where they are please comment below!
Related Posts
I’ve written other posts about Chichester including the ones below:
- Chichester Walls Walk
- Paddleboarding On The Chichester Canal
- Chichester Aerial Photos
- Chichester Festival Of Flowers
Full Chichester street art gallery
Cat balancing on a rail outside Havana’s Bar in Little London is one of my faves…
I was looking for that!! I shall get it next time 🙂 Thanks so much for reading!
The bird on the side wall of what was ‘Whipped And Baked’ was painted by an artist called Samo.
Thank you! I know of Samo and met him in Chi at the East Pallent Gallery last year. 🙂
I’ve spotted a few of these over the years, but never realised that there were so many! They’re all amazing, thanks for bringing them to our attention Ali Xx
It’s my pleasure! Thanks for reading x
Great selection. I didn`t know there were so many there. I like the fact that it was in Chichester. Worthing has a selection of unikely street art too, but not as many and impressive as these.
My friend has written a blog about Worthing street art and I keep meaning to check it out. But the Chichester stuff is fantastic, and almost ‘hidden in plain sight’ – they’re everywhere if you know where to look!
I love this article, thank you very much for taking the time to create it.
One thing to mention is the large figure on the side of the Metro House Building is actually by the artist Phlegm.
Although, he does have a very similar style to Liqen!
Take care 🙂
Thanks Heather! Have corrected the article 🙂
Great article and pics but you’re wrong about one thing – Brexit Balloon Girl definitely isn’t by JPS. Don’t ask me how I know!
Thanks! I’ve updated the content to reflect this. I would love to know about the background to it, if you know anything. Happy to preserve anonymity 🙂