The 'KIWI' who has painted an aquarium

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Belgian artist Kevin Lamy Stiers - aka KIWI Wall Art - was commissioned to create murals in the recently reopened space in Almuñécar

Jennie Rhodes

Friday, 20 February 2026, 12:55

If you pay a visit to Almuñécar's recently reopened aquarium, or have reason to go to the town's San Miguel primary school, you will not be able to miss the huge, vibrant murals recently painted by Belgian muralist, KIWI (aka Kevin Lamy Stiers).

KIWI has been to Almuñécar four times since he first discovered the town a year ago and each time he comes back he is invited to take on new projects. The first came about through a friend who works at the school and he was invited to paint the external walls.

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Impressed with his work, the town hall asked him to fill the walls of the aquarium, which already had some murals painted by Granada-based artist 'El Niño de la Pinturas' (the boy of the paintings), otherwise known as Raúl Ruiz, which were done before the facility closed.

KIWI, 29, was born in Brussels to a Belgian father and Portuguese mother and discovered his talent at a young age. He reveals that he is "self-taught" and is passionate about passing on his knowledge to other budding artists.

That's why doing the projects in the school and at the aquarium, where visitors have been able to come in and watch him at work, are so important to him.

He has run workshops for children and local art students have also been involved with the aquarium project.

KIWI says that he is a "travelling artist" and goes "where the paints take" him. His work can also be seen in France, Belgium, Portugal and Austria, to name but a few.

Murals, he says, are how he can spread ideas in a light and colourful way - an immediate and effective way to communicate certain ideas.

"I love to tell stories through my murals - each and every one tells a story," he explains.

The artist is inspired by mythology and nature and he says that the opportunity to paint an aquarium in the Mediterranean has been "a dream come true".

It means that he has been able to draw on areas of Greek mythology and the legend of Atlas seemed like the obvious starting place, only instead of holding the heavens, in KIWI's work, the Greek Titan is holding up the Eurasian and African tectonic plates.

"The Atlas Mountains are on the other side of the Mediterranean, in Morocco, so it all came together," he explains, adding: "It's a titanic job," with over 300 square metres of walls to cover.

KIWI is a keen swimmer, which he says "helps" with getting to know what the local seabed looks like. He has also made contact with local divers who have been helping him with images of the important local marine ecosystem, such as the species of fish and the orange corals that are native to the Maro-Cerro Gordo cliffs.

As for the name, KIWI explains that it has "nothing to do with New Zealand or the bird". Instead it came about in conversations with friends in 2019 and is inspired by his Belgian and Portuguese roots. "It's French onomatopoeia; ki-wi sounds a bit like qui-vi - s/he who lives - and that is also the way the Portuguese pronounce the fruit kiwi."

KIWI finished the aquarium job on 17 February, but will be back in Almuñécar in April to work on another commission that has come up. The contract at the aquarium may have finished, but this artist's relationship with Almuñécar is a work in progress.

To find out more about his work visit: www.kiwiwallart.com or Instagram: kiwiwallarts.