New mural in Prague celebrates 50 years of Greenpeace

The final touches on a new large-scale mural honoring the 50th anniversary of environmental organization Greenpeace are being added to the facade of a building in Prague's Vršovice neighborhood this weekend. The finished piece will be officially presented to the public during an event on Monday, September 5 from 7:00 p.m.

The latest mural is the fourth of five to go up in Prague as part of the city's ongoing Wall Street Festival, which has previously brought large murals to the Czech capital's Holešovice and Karlín neighborhoods.

Named Gai and Gaia, the new mural has been created by artist Michal Škapa as part of a worldwide movement to honor 50 years of Greenpeace. The Prague mural has joined others in Canada, Belgium, Israel, the Philippines, and other countries as part of the Hope Through Action campaign.

"Michal Škapa was a clear choice for us. He's among the world's top [street artists], but above all we resonate with his values, that was the most important thing for us," Ivana Česnek Marcinová from the Czech branch of Greenpeace told local media.

"He grasped the theme in his own way - unpredictably, and as always, perfectly. In addition, we were lucky with the timing and that we were able to join forces with the street art festival Wall Street."

Unlike the earlier Wall Street murals, Gai and Gaia is split across two winding facades of a residential building in Vršovice. The mural covers an impressive total of 300 square meters in size, making it the Wall Street festival's biggest piece yet.

Gai and Gaia depicts two prominent figures that represent man's relationship with nature. On the right side, a male shaman with a crown of plants stands ankle-deep in water as planets and gears rotate behind him. On the left side, a female figure emerges from a jungle in front of ancient and modern cities.

Michal Škapa has been creating graffiti art in the Czech Republic since the 1990s, and is now celebrated as one of the country's most prominent street artists. For the past 14 years, he has had his own studio at Prague's Meet Factory.

Gai and Gaia is Škapa's second mural as part of the Wall Street Prague festival. The artist previously created the cosmic jellyfish mural in Karlín earlier this summer.

Come see the finished mural presented in Prague's Vršovice neighborhood at Moskevská 4, just down a side street off the popular Krymská street.

It will be officially presented during an evening party on Monday from 5:00 p.m., which includes a street bar and performances by local DJs IM Cyber and Leglegs.