Lis cet article en français : Monkey Bird à la Cité Bleue.
On Saturday 19 September 2026, La Cité Bleue in Bacalan unveiled a monumental 1,000 sqm mural by Monkey Bird on the façade of the former Lingots building. Presented as the largest street art mural in Bordeaux, the work turns a relic of the city's industrial past into a large-scale contemporary piece. Part of the Bordeaux Confidentiel team was on site, invited by Pierre Lecaroz, founder of the Galerie Magnetic and the real driving force behind the Monkey Bird project at La Cité Bleue. Gypsy jazz, mapping, aerial dance: here is our take on the day and the evening.
La Cité Bleue, a former industrial site turned art ground
La Cité Bleue sits on a former sugar refinery from the early 20th century, converted into a venue for companies, artisans, associations and actors of the social and solidarity economy. The site defends a model built on the rehabilitation of an existing industrial heritage, on opening up to the neighbourhood and on creating new uses. In Bacalan, a short walk from the Cité du Vin, the place has become a real urban lab over the years.
This 1,000 sqm mural fits right in. The former productive site does not vanish behind the urban art, it becomes its support. The façade now tells both the industrial history of Bacalan and its new identity, more cultural, creative and collective. The site's street art trail already features about fifteen murals, and La Cité Bleue runs guided visits dedicated to the venue's history and works.
Monkey Bird: animals, architecture, monumental scale
The duo is known for stencil compositions, with a very recognisable visual language populated by animals, architectural motifs and details drawn from classical ornamentation. On Bordeaux walls, we have already crossed paths with them around the Mériadeck ice rink and in the Chartrons, with that approach where the building becomes a real narrative support.
Here, radical shift in scale. Across 1,000 sqm, Monkey Bird do not just dress a wall: they dialogue with the volumes, the traces and the industrial memory of the former site. The animal motifs, architectural cutouts and precision of the stencil take on another dimension when you step back on the square and take in the whole façade. There is a monumental-mural reading, and a detail reading, each holds up on its own. That is what makes the work so strong close up and from a distance.
Pierre Lecaroz, the project's conductor
Impossible to talk about this mural without talking about Pierre Lecaroz. Founder of Galerie Magnetic in the Chartrons, he is one of the most active players on the Bordeaux street art scene, and he is the one who led this Monkey Bird project at La Cité Bleue from start to finish. Choice of the duo, framing of the commission on the 1,000 sqm, technical coordination with the industrial site, building of the Murmures opening night around the reveal: at every step, you find his signature and his network.
Huge thanks to him for the invitation and, above all, for the commitment poured into this project. Bringing Monkey Bird onto a façade of this size, holding a brief like that within the framework of the European Heritage and Matrimony Days, and delivering an opening night on par with the work itself: none of that happens by chance. Bordeaux gains a new street art landmark thanks to passionate people like him.
Murmures: the opening night, from the team's side
The mural was unveiled during Murmures, a nocturnal show tied into the fourth edition of La Cité Bleue en fête. On the programme: sound and light mapping on the façade, performances by the collectives Taciturn and Compagnie du Wagon G, aerial choreography by Tango Nomade, appearance by rapper Rackam, concert and closing DJ set. Across the day, a backdrop of gypsy jazz set a very fitting mood, somewhere between guinguette and rehabilitated warehouse.
The high point is, of course, the reveal by mapping. Projections first animate the façade, play with the Monkey Bird motifs still invisible in the dark, then progressively pull back to let the work appear in full light. The aerial choreography by Tango Nomade, suspended above the crowd, adds a visual layer that gives the whole thing real density. We came out honestly blown away, both by the mastery of the setup and by the collective energy of the evening. A night out of the ordinary, on par with the mural.
Where to see the mural, how to get there
The mural is visible year-round on the façade of the former Lingots building, at La Cité Bleue, 176 rue Achard, 33300 Bordeaux, Bacalan district. The site is easy to reach from the Cité du Vin area, via tram B (Cité du Vin or Achard stop depending on your starting point) and several bus lines. For a fuller discovery, we recommend combining the monumental mural with a walk in the neighbourhood and a visit of the other works on the site's walls.
After the murals in the Chartrons, Mériadeck, the Bassins à flot or the Belcier area, this new Monkey Bird landmark adds a truly spectacular piece to the metro area's street art trail. In Bacalan, the work operates both as an artistic creation and as an urban signal: it draws attention to a former industrial site and accompanies the shift of a neighbourhood where heritage, culture, craft and local life keep crossing paths.
Monkey Bird mural, La Cité Bleue
Address: 176 rue Achard, 33300 Bordeaux, Bacalan
Work: 1,000 sqm stencil mural on the façade of the former Lingots building
Project lead: Pierre Lecaroz, Galerie Magnetic
Unveiling: Saturday 19 September 2026, within La Cité Bleue en fête and the European Heritage and Matrimony Days
Opening show: Murmures (mapping, Taciturn, Compagnie du Wagon G, Tango Nomade, Rackam, DJ set)
Access: tram B, several bus lines, close to the Cité du Vin
Visit: free access to the mural, guided street art tours offered by the site
Website: cite-bleue.fr
