IVAM MUSEUM
The IVAM Museum, short for Institut Valencia d’Art Modern, is a modern and contemporary art museum in Valencia. It is the first center of modern art in Spain and opened in 1989. The museum is designed by architects Emilio Giminez and Carlos Salvadores. But in 2000, the building went through a redesign by Emilio Gimenez and Julian Esteban. IVAM is located right in the heart of the Embajadores areas, which is where our street art tour is centered. The current museum director is Nuria Enguita Mayo, and he is working to incorporate public-private collaborations and educational projects. 
The museum stretches to a whopping 18,200 m2 and contains multiple exhibition rooms. The museum includes both permanent collections and temporary collections that continuously change. The permanent collection held in the museum is undoubtedly the biggest attraction. The IVAM collection (permanent exhibition) focuses on combining modern and contemporary art with local and global. The exhibition is split up into eight distinct sections, all focusing on different themes.
Some of the other collections we got to see are located in the Centre Julio Gonzalez building within the museum. This is usually where they showcase more of their new showings. Abstract sculptor Gonzalez and the Impressionist painter Ignacio Pinanzo are major artists featuring in the museum. One of the installations is “Cultural Traffic: from the Global Border to the Border Neighbourhood (2010) by Teddy Cruz. This sculpture includes lines of 300 traffic cones that create a circular pattern, and also each creates a video projection.
We also see two other showcases. “What is our home?”, which is a compilation of different pieces from the MAXXI museum in Rome. The collection explores the connection between space and one’s memory. All the works in this collection are large-scale sculptures that play around with the idea of openness and closeness. The other showing exhibition seen is the first major solo exhibition by artist Gülsün Karamustafa. In this collection, there is a sculpture of animals that sit on colorful podiums. Through her work, she teaches us how to open our minds and abandon stereotypes of society.
STREET ART
Comparably, Valencia street art is very beautiful and popular, making them the city’s best murals. Visitors often walk this Valencia street art tour to experience the essence of these street jewels. There is an urban art tour in Valencia, which starts in Calle Peydro and goes to the Plaza de la Merced, around the Central Market. The city art includes works by Escif, who also goes by the name Spanish Banksy. Hyuro is an Argentinian-born artist who lives in Valencia, and his graffiti is also on a lot of the walls.
The biggest mural in the city center by Escif in 2018 is in Avenida Jacinta. The mural has a large cell phone called “La Vida es ostra cosa,” meaning “Life is something else.” The mural sends the message that Valencia is becoming more sustainable. The environmental message of the painting tells viewers that technology is negatively impacting mother nature.
Many of the artists that draw these paintings are famous for their work on grey tones. They all vary in themes, some are lighthearted, and some are more serious to reflect on societal conflicts and abuse. Some artists also work with the stores and building owners to create a piece that matches their stores.
