AKORE. BARCELONA (SPAIN)

AKORE is a self-taught street and multidisciplinary artist, widely regarded as one of the most prominent figures in contemporary urban art in Barcelona. His artistic vocation began in 1989 within the emerging hip-hop movement in Barcelona’s outskirts, where he grew up and created his first sketches, tags, and graffiti. Since then, he has developed a distinctive visual language that merges post-graffiti expression with African aesthetics.

His work has been featured in Time Out USA (“13 Best Street Artists in the World”), National Geographic, El País, La Vanguardia (“one of the kings of El Born neighborhood in Barcelona”), and the internationally broadcast documentary series This is Art (Brutal Media / BBC Studios / TV3 / Movistar+), shown in over 80 countries.

Rooted in African spirituality, history, and identity, AKORE’s work features striking portraits of African women that symbolize cultural memory and ancestral strength. Born in Cieza, Murcia — a region with deep historical and cultural ties to the African continent through its heritage — he maintains strong geographical, historical, and cultural connections with Africa, where he identifies his roots, ancestors, and spiritual identity. His distinctive post-graffiti style has been described as urban, tribal, abstract, hip-funk, and electro-Afropunk — collectively defined as Afrocolor.

AKORE’s artistic practice is characterized by intense chromatic contrasts and a synthesis of urban, graffiti, tribal, and abstract forms. He often paints on public walls in broad daylight, a deliberate act of creative resistance that breaks with established norms and reclaims public space. Guided by instinct, he seeks pure creative expression — celebrating spontaneity and the act of creation itself. His work is not always beautiful —  provocation and rupture are as central to his practice as aesthetics.

Committed to sustainability, Akore incorporates recycled and found materials — truck doors, traffic signs, fabrics, stones, wood and scrap metal — into his artistic practice, building a direct material dialogue between the discarded and the remembered.

In addition to his studio and street work, Akore has contributed to academic and cultural discourse. He has delivered guest lectures at the University of Barcelona and the Palau de la Música Catalana (a UNESCO World Heritage site), and his work is currently being studied by the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

AKORE has exhibited across Europe and Asia, with shows in Spain, France, Germany, and Singapore, and has painted murals internationally in France, Portugal, Senegal, and Australia. His practice spans canvas, sculpture, installation, video art, body painting, research, writing and music production — reflecting a commitment to multidisciplinary exploration.