Pøbel Street Art – Komafest Vardø

Vardø might be the last place you would expect an outdoor street-art gallery. After the fishing industry declined, the town lost almost half its people in 40 years (from 4.187 in 1970 to 2.124 in 2010), and many houses, shops and fish-processing buildings stood empty. In July 2012 the Norwegian street artist Pøbel came with an idea: Komafest – the houses would be woken from their coma. Together with 11 artists from Norway and abroad, among them Vhils, ROA, Stephen Powers, Conor Harrington and Atle Østrem, he painted large murals on abandoned buildings around the town.

Local knowledge: Pøbel and a local entrepreneur also raised an old removal van next to the undersea tunnel that leads to Vardø – it belonged to the town’s only removal company, which had moved so many people away. Inside is a time capsule, to stay sealed for 50 years.

More than art: Komafest was a collaboration with Vardø Restored, the local people restoring the town’s old buildings; it became its own company in 2017, and several of the painted houses have since been bought and renovated. Pøbel’s street art began in Lofoten, where from 2006 he painted abandoned houses – see Pøbel Street Art Gimsøy.

Visiting: the works are outdoors and can be seen all year – in 2021 street art still shaped parts of the town. Park in a permitted place and walk through the centre and around the harbour; allow 30–60 minutes. Some works are on private houses, so please respect private property, and expect that some murals have faded or changed. Nearby in our guide: Vardøhus Fortress and the Steilneset Memorial.