As heritage passes from one generation to another, it transforms and reshapes itself to fit within a contemporary milieu. For Nuart Aberdeen 2024, organizers embraced the dynamic nature of culture and traditions and invited 11 artists to reflect on the concept.

“Living Heritage” was the theme of this year’s street art festival, which “incorporates the parts of our shared past that live in the present—everyday rituals and practices, cultural expressions, celebrations, festivals, stories, songs, and craft that help to define who we are,” says director and curator Martyn Reed. “These don’t have to be as old as time. This is heritage that lives in the present.”

Included were artists like Millo, who painted his signature black-and-white scene punctuated by brown photographs evoking his own experiences and the city’s history. Hera similarly references local culture as she places a unicorn, Scotland’s national animal, in the arms of a doe-eyed figure.

Joined by the local community, Bahia Shehab created a bold and timely mural with a stanza from a poem by Palestinian writer Mahmoud Darwish. The text reads, “You are forgotten, as if you never existed,” against a backdrop evoking a watermelon, a Palestinian symbol of resistance.

Find more from the 2024 festival on Instagram.