Street art is gradually coming to be accepted as a legitimate and wonderful art form by more and more people, but that doesn’t mean that street artists can rest on their laurels – they continue exploring with new ways to exploit public spaces and cover them in beautiful art. This post is all about street artists and regular people who have decorated something that most of us probably wouldn’t think of decorating – public outdoor steps.

Much like the hidden street art of Zebrating, most of this cool art can only truly be appreciated when viewed from a certain vantage point. They may seem like random splashes of paint to someone actually climbing those steps, but someone looking at them from below will see the artist’s full vision. If they’re long enough, someone ascending the steps will see the image and see how it stretches and twists as they approach it. Of course, not all of the stair designs have to form images – some are simply colorful decorations that make the neighborhood a more uplifting place.

Quite a few of these unique artworks were born out of community efforts, which also shows a growing worldwide acceptance of street art. When the Rainbow steps in Turkey were first painted over by the local government, nearby communities responded by painting their own steps as well in solidarity. The mosaic steps in San Francisco were created by more than 300 local people under the careful guidance of a couple of artists.

Is there any similar sidewalk art in your city that’s worth sharing? If not, hopefully, these stairs pictures will inspire you to get your community together and paint your steps together!

1. 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, San Francisco

Image credits: yellofish.tumblr.com

Image credits: Jordan Wong

2. Valparaíso, Chile

Image credits: Jean-BaptisteYunis

3.  Philadelphia Museum of Art

Image credits: rleigh

4. Valparaíso, Chile

Image credits: oueduabroad.wordpress.com

5. Seoul, South Korea

Image credits: Kevin Lowry

6. Wuppertal, Germany

Image credits: frizztext

7. Sicily, Italy

Image credits: Andrea Annaloro

8. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Image credits: jr-art.net

9. Beirut, Lebanon

Image credits: Jubran E. Elias

10. Stairs to the musical theater in Seoul, South Korea

Image credits: Kimhwan SEOULIST

11. Stairs of Peace in Syria

Image credits: Jood Voluntary Team

12. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Image credits: justin-travels.com

13. Angers, France

Image credits: Mademoiselle Maurice

14. Istanbul, Turkey

Image credits: DHA

15. Morlaix, France

Image credits: ZAG

16. Tehran, Iran

Image credits: farsizaban.tumblr.com (thank you Lijne Kreupeling for the suggestion!)

17. Beirut, Lebanon

Image credits: Dihzahyners Project

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