DIRMED · A51 · Septèmes-les-Vallons · 2026
DIRMED
2026
AMSTED & FUEGO
Artistic direction & coordination · Urban Art Up
A programme led by DIRMED
DIRMED, the French government department responsible for part of the national road network in south-east France, has commissioned Urban Art Up to provide artistic direction and coordination for this programme in Septèmes-les-Vallons. We select the artists, review their proposals and prepare the interventions with DIRMED’s teams, taking into account access to the structures and road operating requirements.
AMSTED on the pillars of the A51
On the five pillars of the PS A517 overpass, AMSTED combines curved forms with a palette of blues inspired by Marseille’s light. The composition follows the structure’s volumes and looks different as the daylight changes. Work took place over three nights and one day to accommodate motorway operations.
FUEGO’s lettering
FUEGO created the lettering for the mural. His graffiti lettering accompanies AMSTED’s painted forms, bringing both artists’ contributions together on the same structure.
Next: the PI A515 tunnel
The programme is due to continue in the PI A515 tunnel, a few hundred metres from the overpass. The intervention is planned at night, with the tunnel fully closed. The artists and allocation of wall surfaces will be announced after completion; the provisional dates are listed in the project summary below.
Client
DIR Méditerranée, a decentralised department of the French State
Urban Art Up's role
Artistic direction and coordination of the programme
PS A517, Septèmes-les-Vallons
160 m², 5 pillars — Amsted (mural), Fuego (lettering) — 3–6 August 2026
PI A515 tunnel, Septèmes-les-Vallons
approximately 548 m² — 19–30 October 2026, artists to be announced once work is complete
AMSTED
Amélie Martinez-Piat, known as AMSTED, is a self-taught artist from Aix-en-Provence. Curves run through her work, expressing flexibility, movement and the ability to adapt to others.
More than twenty years in psychiatric care and her experience as an art therapist inform her practice. Her abstract forms draw on the organic world, with particular attention to the experiences of people with disabilities.
Instagram · @ams_ted
In the press
URBAN ARTS magazine · Gabrielle Gauthier · 7 September 2026
Amsted : d’inspirantes lignes de conduite
Read the article in French ↗
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