The city of Utrecht in the central Netherlands is a beautiful juxtaposition of medieval churches and creative modern architecture.

Now, two street artists are proving that even the most pedestrian building can be turned into something special with some imagination – and plenty of community input.

Artist and muralist Jan Heinsbroek – who goes by the moniker Jan Is De Man – got a request from friends one day to transform their brick building into a work of art.

Originally, their idea was to have him paint something simple and cheery, like a smiley face, on the building to lift people’s spirits when they walked by.

But as the artist told My Modern Met, once he got a look at the structure, he realized its potential for a community-inclusive mural that would help bring people together through their love of literature – so he painted a giant bookshelf on the side.

When he got the idea, he called in a graffiti and tattoo artist Deef Feed – who he had worked with in the past – to help turn his idea into a reality.

Both artists wanted to highlight the diversity of the neighborhood the building was in, so they asked locals which books they should paint on the shelves. The only rule was that they couldn’t be religious or political – the goal was to bring people together, not drive them apart with contentious titles.

And as you might imagine, the community stepped up. Now the building is a beautiful ode to multicultural literature in 8 different languages – and there are even some smiley faces hidden in there. A total 0f 32 people submitted ideas of what to paint on the building.

“We’ve noticed that this project brought people together without pushing it,” Jan Is De Man told My Modern Met. “They meet each other through books. Regardless of the differences in cultures, regardless of the differences in political point of views. Regardless of being extreme right or extreme left. Books are magical. They tickle your brain. And everyone can read the same book, but feel something different.”

It’s a wonderful celebration of diversity that also highlights the universal appeal of a good story (even if two different readers have different interpretations).

The two artists worked full time for just a single week to take the Instagram-worthy idea – titled Boekenkast – from start to finish.

The Boekenkast is now a tourist destination as well as a testament to the local community – one the celebrates the enjoyment of literature (well, and a subtle and cheeky issue of Playboy).

After the success of his Netherlands project, Jan Is De Man has now embarked on other bookshelf murals, like this one in Nord-Pas-De-Calais, France:

Other cities are clearly fans of the Netherlands mural as well and are requesting the artists’ work – there’s a new bookshelf in Walthamstow, England as well:

Each mural adds something special to the neighborhood it lives in and gives passers-by a focal point that is both beautiful and meaningful.

And since even the Dutch can’t seem to get enough of the murals, there’s even a second installation in Utrecht:

With all the attention Jan Is De Man and Deef Feed have gotten as a result of their creative venture, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more of these murals pop up around the world.

What would be your suggestion for a (non-political, non-religious) book to add to your city’s “bookshelf”?

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Source: My Modern Met, Jan Is De Man on Instagram, Deef Feed on Instagram, Bored Panda