Guwahati’s streets are more than just transit routes; they’re open-air galleries conveying pride, protest, and cultural identity. From flyover pillars to university walls, public art turns concrete into powerful statements. Let’s tour the top five hubs where Guwahati street murals make messages.
Nilachal Flyover Murals, Maligaon
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Stretching 2.6?km, Guwahati’s Maligaon flyover features exuberant murals by LivingArt collective led by Neelim Mahanta, Neelkamal Kashyap, and others depicting Assamese textiles, fauna, traditional motifs, and musical instruments. The artistry transforms grey pillars into a vibrant tribute to Assam’s heritage.
Dispur Art Flyover by Project Axom
Project Axom, spearheaded by Neelim Mahanta’s LivingArt team again, painted the Dispur supermarket flyover with cultural motifs of Assam’s tribes, wildlife, and monuments. Commuters often pause traffic to admire bold strokes celebrating Assamese diversity.
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“Don’t Cut Trees” Deer Graffiti, Guwahati University
Near Guwahati University, renowned artist Bhejal (Gogoi) painted a striking deer mural on a campus wall, ingeniously integrating real branches as antlers. The artwork protests the felling of age-old trees and powerfully asks, “Don’t cut trees.” It’s art as activism is a visual rallying cry for environmental protection.
Zoo Road (RG Baruah) Flyover Pillars, Shraddhanjali Setu
On the 55 pillars of the Shraddhanjali flyover, artists like Bhejal, Pawan Mahanta, Parshita Choudhury, and others painted flora, fauna, Assamese tribal attire, and musical instruments. The murals honor Assam’s natural beauty and diverse cultures, blending traditional and contemporary visual styles.
Guwahati Ganeshguri Flyover
The Ganeshguri flyover, a key T-shaped junction, now hosts murals showcasing Assamese cultural elements and landscape motifs. While less documented than others, it’s clear local artists are embedding their heritage into urban structures.
The Artists & Their Messages
At the heart of this transformation is Neelim Mahanta, founder of LivingArt, a platform championing public murals across Guwahati. His initiative, Project Axom, uplifts Indigenous culture through vibrant wall art. Another prominent figure is Bhejal, whose emotionally charged deer mural blends activism with artistry.
Designer by day, Chiranjit Bhowmik channels his spare time into street art that explores the concept of relativity, aiming to connect with both local and wider communities. Together, these artists use concrete as canvas and murals as manifestos.
Culture and Protest in Public View
Guwahati’s wall art fuses celebration and dissent. Murals celebrating Assamese identity sit alongside political pieces resisting urban overdevelopment and deforestation.
The arrest of graffiti activists Marshall Baruah, and others during anti-tree-felling protests exemplifies how this art transcends aesthetics and enters activism. These art walls channel anger, pride, and resistance turning daily commutes into reflective journeys.
To wrap it up, Guwahati street art is a feeling you carry home
The streets of Guwahati have evolved into vivid galleries, where structured flyover pillars become stages for cultural storytelling and political resistance. Each brushstroke narrates Assam’s history, diversity, and ecological concerns.
These art walls reflect a city waking up, using public space to bridge tradition, contemporary expression, and collective consciousness. Next time you drive beneath these flyovers, pause and read the city’s story painted in murals, embedded in protest, and alive in every stroke.