UPAINT the Ocean: Street Art for the Planet
Written by Andi Schmitz
Published on October 13, 2025
To host a graffiti and street art festival in a city like Monaco, a place defined by its pristine glamour, seems almost impossible. Yet, over nine editions, UPAINT has managed to host artists from all over the world and raise thousands for environmental conservation, proving that street art belongs in even the most unexpected places. Alberto Colman and his partner Cinzia Sgambati-Colman —together with their children, Eduardo and Valentina, and the international graffiti writers, muralists, and painters they have gathered—completed UPAINT’s ninth iteration. 2025’s “The Blue Edition” had an ocean-inspired focus and maintained the festival’s original message, “Pay attention and respect the world around you.”
In bringing together a broad spectrum of styles—from graffiti lettering to pop surrealism, to mural-scale naturalism, and from a diverse range of international perspectives—this year’s UPAINT continued to prove that it is not just a cultural festival but a global platform for environmental dialogue. Dubbed “UPAINT the Ocean,” the festival aligned itself with the 2025 United Nations Oceans Conference in Nice, amplifying the message of environmental conservation and awareness. UPAINT has firmly planted the idea that graffiti and street art belong in the conversations shaping our planet’s future. As every year, the festival partnered with Fondation Prince Albert II to support its multiple projects dedicated to promoting sustainable development and protecting the environment.
The annual auction, which raises donations and is once again organized in partnership with Hôtel des Ventes Monte-Carlo, was held online throughout the entire four days of the festival. Instead of hosting a live auction on the last day, this year UPAINT went virtual, giving people more opportunities to bid on pieces. Prince Albert II visited on the final day, as is festival tradition, to personally meet and thank each artist for their contributions.
“Each edition changes completely; that’s part of the richness of the festival – both the artistic richness and the human richness.”
On the stunning Larvotto Beachwalk, the founders and organizers worked tirelessly to build a welcoming atmosphere, inviting everyone to join the UPAINT family. Cinzia Sgambati-Colman explains, “Every year we have about 12 artists, but each year is different because the artists are different. Each edition changes completely; that’s part of the richness of the festival – both the artistic richness and the human richness. And it’s essential in this festival because we live four days all together, and it creates empathy and family.”
As always, the festival’s organization is a full-on family affair, with the Colman’s and their crew constantly bustling around, seemingly never stopping. It’s all hands-on deck to ensure the artists have everything they need and that the visitors feel welcome to watch the live painting. Each artist was asked to work with the theme of the ocean, and while each piece had a different inspiration behind it, all of the works reiterate the importance of humanity’s responsibility to protect the environment.
“We decided on the ocean theme because of the timing with the UN Conference in Nice, where the Fondation Prince Albert II is also involved, and also because there were several other events in Monaco focusing on the blue economy and conservation. It just made sense for us to align with that global conversation,” Valentina Colman-Funez explains.
Street art and graffiti have long been forms of protest, a means to express one’s voice and speak out against injustices. The artists who participate in the UPAINT festivals have the unique opportunity to exhibit their craft against the backdrop of the Mediterranean while supporting a philanthropic mission. The effect was powerful and palpable in the pieces that were created over the four days of the festival. The artists were each given two to three large canvases as well as the canvas backdrops to work with, back to back with each other, overlooking the ocean. The result was powerful. There were depictions of gold-dusted jellyfish, surrealist layers of transparent bubbles, “glitch pop” commentary on humans and technology, hybrid graffiti lettering as visual poetry, and various wild animals and fish displayed in beautiful, colorful renditions. These works were more than pieces of live art; they were urgent calls to action. The energy invested in them was used to create a unified voice that spoke for the planet.
“Graffiti has always been a voice for those who need to be heard.”
Art as a tool for advocacy was not a new concept for many of the artists at this year’s festival. The goal of environmental awareness was present in all of their designs and at the forefront of their minds as they painted, sprayed, and stenciled. Jay Caes, a Spanish graffiti writer turned fine art major, echoes this concept, saying, “Graffiti has always been a voice for those who need to be heard. I grew up in Santander, by the sea. Even when I left, the ocean stayed with me. My piece is about that emotional connection, the ‘oceans within’ all of us.” Jay’s works combine the freedom of graffiti with classical fine art techniques, adding a splash of his own cultural influences.
Using art as a vehicle for transformation is a concept the UPAINT artists wanted to embody. “Art is more important than money. My tool is art, and I want to give people something to think about,” said Italian artist Luca Ledda. Luca drew attention to the recent rise in the mass sale of canned whale meat, often distributed through vending machines in Japan. His two canvases, when displayed together, depict a can with a piece of whale sushi on it, accompanied by the words “Humans Kill.”
Artist Amaury Dubois also decided to use a whale to convey his message, saying, We always say we have to do things for the next generation, but it’s not too late for ours. We can still do something now. I see my work like a drop of water in the sea — each drop makes the ocean.” His canvases were a mix of abstract surrealism, a black and white whale and sea turtle were intercut with panels of colorful fauna. He explains how the ocean had a direct influence on his artistic palette, “The ocean completely changed my palette. When I dived in the Red Sea, I discovered colors I’d never imagined — coral life mixing shades I never dared to use. Now I try to make paintings that feel alive, as if they exist before and after me.”
As requested, the artists drew their inspiration from the ocean, extracting meaning from its mysterious depths. “For me, the ocean is like another world — a poetic world, like space, but closer,” French calligraffiti artist Zepha said. “I painted endangered species in dialogue with the names of big fishing industries and yachts… It wasn’t decoration — it was to denounce. I use calligraphy to create my world.” His contribution to the festival was a unique wall of intricate blue and gold calligraphy, which communicated with viewers through its words and captured their attention with its aesthetic appeal.
Veks Van Hillik, another French native, sees the ocean as another dimension of existence, saying, “For me, the ocean is a surreal world. Floating is like levitation upside down. It’s dark and light at the same time, fascinating and frightening. We don’t know much about it, and that mystery makes it naturally surrealistic.” His style is a mix of surrealism and contemporary art, with inspiration drawn from Flemish paintings. Veks explains his painting of a flying fish with coral emerging from its mouth, almost like veins or an atomic structure, “It’s strange but poetic, a contrast between the dark reality of the ocean today and the hope for the future.”
Fellow French artist Jordan Harang took a more abstract approach in his work, creating a figurative oceanic-inspired landscape where the audience could project themselves into the story. “I think about evolution — how life mutates over time, how matter transforms. It’s scientific, but also philosophical, and it all passes through the ocean at some point,” he says.
Théo Lopez also took an abstract route by opting to use firm lines and geometric shapes to convey the different states of water. He explains, “I worked with big, wet brushes and contrasted them with dry textures to represent the moods of the ocean. It was very spontaneous — no sketch, just composition in the moment. I believe humans need to reconnect with their roots. In cities, it’s easy to forget where we come from.”
An avid lifelong diver, French artist Julien Soone brought his Japanese-inspired design to Monaco by recreating his version of Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave of Kanagawa.’ He shared his real-life experience of literally seeing the oceans change before his eyes. “As a kid, the Mediterranean was alive with fish and coral. Now, when I dive, I see only a few fish hiding in the rocks. What I used to see in France, you now have to go to the Philippines or Malaysia to find. It’s a disaster happening in front of our eyes.”
Artists Tiffany Anna, from the small island of Guernsey, and French artist Céz Art both work almost exclusively with vividly colored animals, although in very different ways and applications. Tiffany Anna, through ballsy, excessive application of gold leaf to large canvases, depicts various wild animals in a whimsical and joy-inspiring way. She shares, “For me, art should be colorful, bright, and happy. My motto is simple: I just want to create art. For Monaco, jellyfish felt perfect: the colors, the movement, the connection to the sea. It matches both the theme and the brightness of this place.”
Céz Art works on a larger scale, creating trippy murals of various flora and fauna that intermingle with aspects of human life through a bold palette and interesting geometric patterns. “My artistic vision is to give nature a place back in urban areas — to bring the wild back into the city,” he explains. “That’s why I focus on animals. I want people to remember the species we are losing.”
And Temponok, a French former graffiti writer, whose art typically speaks more about emotion, played with the idea of memory. He explains the inspiration behind his intricately painted transparent bubbles, “The ocean is always present. For this festival, I wanted to create something that spoke to its power — the blue layered over black, like pollution but also like memory.”
Rounding out the roster of talented artists was Mr. One Teas, a Monaco local and a true pinnacle of the festival, and the only artist who returns to UPAINT every year. His pieces were a continuation of his dual canvases he created last year, “We are cosmonauts in my paintings because we’ve destroyed so much of this planet, but have nowhere else to go. Last year was ‘No Planet B,’ and this year I’m still playing with that same idea — that we have to face what we’ve done, but also find hope in change.”
With his young son present to see his dad paint him depicted as a scooter-riding astronaut, Mr. One Teas rounds out the UPAINT theme of family and connection. He explains, “UPAINT is not just an event where you show up and paint. It’s about exchange. Year after year, it becomes a bigger family. The friendships I make here continue into other festivals and projects. That’s how this community grows.”
Looking to the future, the Colman’s want to take their growing UPAINT family and travel outside of their Monégasque community to further their global reach. Valentina Colman-Funez explains, “ We want to take the UPAINT spirit and take it global. We want to work with other local organizations in other countries and take the festival to the next level.” UPAINT has become a tool for advocacy, using art as a communal language to address one of the most pressing issues of our time, climate change. Street art is a movement without borders, and UPAINT aims to expand its message beyond borders, continuing to push the idea that there is, in fact, “no Planet B.”
Andi Schmitz is a writer, artist and recent American expat. Born in Dublin, Ireland and raised in a smörgåsbord of places, she has recently relocated to Berlin, Germany. Lifelong writer and artist, she is recovering from former corporate fintech life by self-induced art immersion. Her hobbies include painting, a good whiskey sour, and exploring art as a form of social outcry.
Website: andischmitz.com