Make Art Not War Mural in Berlin

The mural “Make Art Not War” by Shepard Fairey at Mehringplatz in Berlin-Kreuzberg is one of the city’s most striking works of street art. It combines a clear message of peace with the artist’s signature bold, graphic visual language. Created in September 2014, it was one of the first “One Wall” series—a project by Urban Nation that invites international artists to realize legal large-scale murals across Berlin’s urban landscape. Under the motto “One Wall – one wall, one message,” these works are created in prominent locations across districts like Kreuzberg, Schöneberg, or Spandau. Artists engage with the local neighborhood (Kiez) to create site-specific statements that encourage reflection and promote dialogue between art, the city, and its residents. As a non-profit project of the Stiftung Berliner Leben, it acts as a catalyst for Urban Contemporary Art, complementing the Urban Nation Museum as a type of outdoor gallery. 

The mural covers a building facade at Mehringplatz 28, near the Hallesches Tor U-Bahn station at the start of Friedrichstraße, the shabby beginning of a famous Berlin boulevard. Rendered in bold red and black, the image features a strictly symmetrical composition. On the left and right, red panels featuring vertical paintbrushes frame the central piece, referencing art as a tool of expression. In the black central zone, the flowing “Make Art Not War” lettering stretches across an ornamental white area, flanked by arrows pointing left and right. This is a conscious play on the slogan “Make Love Not War,” which became a pacifist leitmotif of the hippie generation in the late 1960s.

The heart of the mural is a circular red field featuring a stylized rose, its bloom surrounded by white rays reminiscent of a sunrise. The stem of the rose is encircled by a handcuff inscribed with “Rise Above”—a call to rise intellectually and morally above violence, hatred, and resignation. This is complemented by the phrases “Eyes Open” and “Mind Open” on the sides, urging viewers to move through the world with an open gaze and an open mind.

Content-wise, “Make Art Not War” formulates a clear stance against war and oppression, while simultaneously committing to art as a peaceful means of political discourse. Shepard Fairey, who gained worldwide fame through his “Obey Giant” campaign and the Obama “Hope” poster, utilizes graphic rigor, a propaganda-poster aesthetic, and clear catchphrases to deliver a message that is easily legible yet lasting in its impact. Consequently, the mural is not just an eye-catcher in the heterogeneous urban space around Mehringplatz, but also a symbol for a Berlin that recognizes its conflict-ridden history while advocating for openness, diversity, and peace.

Shepard Fairey is not without controversy; he was an early adopter of marketing his own art, leading critics to accuse him of “selling out” and heavy commercialization. Furthermore, he has faced recurring allegations of plagiarism.

However, his work “Make Art Not War” brings an important statement to a socially disadvantaged area of Berlin and provides an optimistic splash of color in a rather bleak neighborhood. In contrast to the mural “Hoodie Birds” by Dutch Street Artist Don John directly opposite—which has been vandalized with paint bombs—Shepard Fairey’s work is slightly faded but remains undamaged.