Val-de-Marne: take a look at the 18 murals of the LE SPOT project, opening in 2025

The town of Joinville-le-Pont, in the Val-de-Marne region of France, is getting ready to unveil a new cultural, artistic, nature and family site, called LE SPOT. The idea? Transform the "abandoned" area of the A4 freeway into an open-air gallery, urban forest and sports venue. In anticipation of its opening in spring 2025, take a look at the 18 frescoes created by the 12 street artists selected for the project.

When a former wasteland is transformed into a place dedicated to young people, combining sport, nature, culture and art! This is the ambitious renaturation and development project currently being carried out by the municipality of Joinville-le-Pont. The Val-de-Marne town has decided to transform the " derelict" area of the A4 freeway into a new site, dubbed LE SPOT.

Situated beneath the famous road, this long strip of land had become derelict over the years. So the Ile-de-France municipality decided to take action. In the spring of 2025, this former vast unused area under the viaduct will open its doors to the public, who will be able to discover an open-air gallery dedicated to street art, with 10,000 m² of painted surface.

To dress the various pillars of the structure and the 5,000 m² ceiling, 12 street artists from 9 different countries were invited to take part in this project curated by Notorious Brand. Notorious Brand is an urban art production and promotion agency, responsible for numerous frescoes in the Paris region, including in the metro and on the walls of Hôpital Necker. He also organized the Gravity festival for the GoodPlanet Foundation.

While the artistic work was completed under the freeway on December 6, and access to visitors is still inaccessible to this day, we had the opportunity to discover, on January 3, 2025, the 18 finalized frescoes, created by the talented artists selected and retained by the city. Mouarf from Notorious Brand was on hand to welcome us and introduce us to the various works. These include works by Spain's Alegria del Prado and Italy's Refreshink. While the former draws its inspiration from nature to create works combining warm colors, mythological animals and ethnic symbols, the latter stands out for its unique"Iconosaik" style.

A little further on, our eye is quickly drawn to Huge's incredible fresco, located just inside SPOT's entrance. The Swedish-born artist is known for his photorealistic helium balloon style. For the project, Huge wrote "LE SPOT" in traditional letters, forming impressive 3D helium balloons.

We continue our tour and discover murals by PichiAvo, the famous Spanish-Mexican duo, Piet Rodriguez and WOSKerski. The London-based urban artist has created two incredible realistic-style works for LE SPOT:"Laundry day" and"Le Eggsplosion", which can even be seen from the Quai de Polangis.

The trompe-l'oeil fresco by Portuguese artist Vile, set against the backdrop of the surrounding biodiversity, is also a particular highlight.

And let's not forget Astro's impressive work. The street artist, who lives in Charenton-le-Pont, was tasked with painting the entire ceiling beneath the freeway. A huge fresco that took a month to complete and mobilized a total of four people.

In addition to the artistic aspect, LE SPOT will also unveil an urban forest, with 400 planted specimens and 30,000 plans between Quai de Polangis and Avenue Jean Estienne d'Orves. The idea? To create an " urban lung" for families and residents of Joinville-le-Pont, as well as local schools, explains Mouarf.

Finally, because LE SPOT aims to be a place dedicated to young people, the Ile-de-France site will also feature sports areas, including a skatepark, two " pump tracks " for BMX enthusiasts, a huge " Parkour " area, a climbing course as well as two 3x3 basketball courts and two 5x5 soccer fields. These sports areas are scheduled for completion in early 2025. They will be built by Playgones, a company specializing in the installation of urban sports furniture, with whom Notorious Brand has worked closely to harmonize the colors of the modules and pitches with the various works of art on the site.

The new sports and leisure area will be open to all. It " embodies the city's strong commitment to the vitality and well-being of its residents. [...] In keeping with the spirit of the times, this new facility is much more than just a place to practice sports: it's a place for sharing and conviviality, conducive to the creation of links between generations and the general public," explains the town on its website.

So, can't wait to discover LE SPOT? See you in spring 2025 for the opening to the general public!