Launched in 2017, Parees was born with a clear mission: to turn Oviedo’s walls into living canvases through mural art, social commitment and citizen participation. Since then, each edition has filled the city with colour, stories and shared memory.

Parees means “walls” in Asturian, and it’s precisely on those walls that the stories shaping the identity of neighbourhoods, communities and the people who inhabit them are drawn. Each mural is conceived as a unique piece, designed to interact with its physical, social and cultural surroundings. Nothing is painted randomly — every detail has meaning.

Held every summer, the festival has supported contextual muralism since day one — an artistic approach that goes far beyond urban beautification. The murals created at Parees are not just visually appealing — they are meaningful, full of memory and community spirit.

In its most recent edition, the festival featured artists such as Mapecoo, who paid tribute to the apple and Asturian cider culture; Marat ‘Morik’ Danilyan, a Russian artist based in Prague, who created two murals on Luis Álvarez Fueyo Street; and Slim Safont, who reflected on the generational handover of traditional crafts.

Throughout the festival, the public can enjoy open activities such as guided mural tours, screen printing, collage or stencil workshops, family mural sessions, artist talks and cultural proposals that invite people to experience art from the inside. Everything is designed so that the public is not just a spectator, but a true protagonist in the creative process.

Artistic mediation is led by the Raposu Roxu collective, who serve as a bridge between artists and the local community, weaving relationships that turn walls into spaces for dialogue.

The festival also promotes a sustainable and community-based culture: it organises bicycle routes to visit the murals, encourages care for public space, and ensures fair working conditions for everyone involved — artists, coordinators, technicians and collaborators.

In just a few years, Parees has become a benchmark for socially committed urban art in northern Spain.