From grey concrete to one of the largest continuous graffiti productions in the region: from August 14–16, 2026, Hit the Trog brought an international line-up of writers to the northern German city of Emden for a weekend dedicated to graffiti, stylewriting, and Hip Hop culture. The setting was anything but ordinary. Following years of construction, the concrete walls along Emden’s so-called Trogstrecke, an important traffic route through the city, offered more than 2,000 square meters of space waiting to be transformed. Instead of leaving the massive surfaces grey, they became the foundation for a huge open-air gallery – publicly accessible and made to stay.
Around 80 graffiti artists from Germany, across Europe, and the United States came together for the event. The line-up brought different generations and approaches to stylewriting side by side, with internationally established names including Bates, Loomit, Won ABC, Can Two, Smash137, and 123Klan, alongside numerous other artists from the international and regional graffiti scene. All participating writers worked with MONTANA BLACK and MONTANA GOLD spray cans to assure the best quality for their huge pieces.
Over the course of the weekend, visitors could experience the entire process up close, watching the pieces develop from first outlines to finished works. Music, food, and a supporting cultural program turned the production into a meeting point for writers, locals, and visitors from beyond the region.
What remained after the weekend was more than the memory of a jam. Hit the Trog permanently changed the appearance of this part of Emden, turning an infrastructure project into a new cultural landmark and creating a large-scale snapshot of contemporary graffiti culture. One weekend, thousands of square meters of concrete, and writers from around the world – Hit the Trog left its mark on Emden.
Images by Jonas Lingott & Hit The Trog