Eight giant murals are about to transform residential streets in Torremolinos, as the town works to revitalise two of its traditional neighbourhoods, El Calvario and San Miguel. The project will bring large-scale urban artwork to the outside walls of apartment buildings, creating a colourful open-air gallery away from the busy tourist areas. The artworks will cover eight building façades across four residential properties, in an area bordered by Calle Río Trueba, Calle Periodista Juan Villar and Calle Joaquín Blake, with planned locations including Plaza Río Aguasvivas, Calle Juan Quesada Rosado and Calle Río Isuela.
Residents in the two neighbourhoods were consulted last year and invited to contribute ideas and help choose the subjects of the paintings, giving local people a role in shaping the designs. The town is investing almost €200,000 in the public art. The artistic work has been awarded to Jofre Oliveras for over €118,000, and the artist has previously completed outdoor projects in Aberdeen, Amman, Barcelona and Madrid. Building repairs and preparation work went to Benalmadena-based company Avalon Proyectos for €75,000.S1S2
The combined contracts total approximately €193,000, with funding coming from a Junta de Andalucía grant of almost €250,000 through its Munitur programme, which supports improvements to public spaces with tourism and cultural value. The contracts have now been awarded and the work is expected to take six months, with residents able to start seeing the finished murals in 2027.S1S2
The murals follow other improvements in El Calvario, including the refurbishment of Plaza Vicente Aleixandre, the restoration of the old market and the opening of the Isabel Manoja community centre. The town has also been given access to a former regional government children's care centre, with plans to develop new facilities there. The latest investment reflects Torremolinos' efforts to improve everyday neighbourhood spaces rather than concentrating solely on its beaches and tourist attractions, and for foreign residents it offers a way to get involved in local life.S1S2
