Art, out and proud in the urban environment

One of the things I love most about traveling is seeing how art and creativity are often embedded in the urban design of cities and towns… in the street furniture… in the pedestrian crossings…

In August 2025 I took a road trip with my family, through France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Here are some of the things I came across that I thought were cool enough to take a photo of.

Saw these the night we stayed over in Lille… they were massive shipping container-esque monoliths (except metal, not stone) but what was super cool was that they had been fitted with speakers which we so quiet you had to put your ear next to them to hear… and what you heard was the sound of the sea… I loved the juxtaposition between the visual loudness and the acoustic demureness.

Gargoyles... well, kinda...

This was an underpass on a bike path in Amsterdam… (oh my goodness, the bike paths are amazing in Amsterdam). It is a series of photos of a bird taking flight…

Kind of reminded me of the birth of the moving image…

I loved this sculpture, which doubled as a road safety feature. It is on a pedestrian crossing, close to a school. It is a crash barrier, a reminder to drivers that children are likely to be around and also a lot of fun.

This was in a suburb of Dunkirk.

Gargoyles... well, kinda...

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