One of the most pivotal aspects of street art is the democratization of public space. Whether people choose to engage or not, graffiti and street art are a way of reminding the everyday pedestrian that they have the power to manipulate their environment (sometimes at a price). Many residents of Balitmore have come to accept dilapidated neighborhoods as their everyday quality of life. The structures around them are literally falling apart due to neglect from city government property owners and has resulted in a massive property-vacancy problem. If Broken Window Theory has anything to do with it, that  “If the city doesn’t care, why should I?” mentality has fostered one of the highest crime rates for any city in the country.

What does street art have to do with Baltimore’s structural issues and decline in living standards? Over a dozen street artists have taken on the task of bringing attention to these issues in a grassroots effort, through installing large pieces on some of the city’s dilapidated, vacant houses. Nether, Gaia, LNY, Noh J Coely, Mata Ruda, Nanook, Harlequinade and others have joined their forces as a non-profit organization called Wall Hunters have teamed up with Baltimore Slumlord Watch to put up large-scale murals on these eye-sore structures with QR codes alongside which informs viewers of who owns the vacant property. Simultaneously, they are creating a documentary with Nether and Carol Ott at the forefront, showing this massive issue corroding Baltimore and their relatively small effort to combat it. They’ve received a bit of funding to make their project possible but not enough, so they’ve created this Indiegogo campaign to bring it to fruition.

Pixel Pancho – work in progress

For the last few days, the first MURAL Festival edition has taken over more than 20 walls in Montreal, Canada, located around the oldest boulevard of the city called “the main”, namely Boulevard Saint-Laurent. Running from June 13 to 16, MURAL offers to the public the opportunity to see some of the big masters of street art at work. Street artists, graffiti artists and muralists have been bringing all their energy and their incredible talent to refresh the streets. Among amazing international artists are the best Canadian ones. The list is long, but impressive: Pixel Pancho, ROA, Phlegm, Escif, Reka One, Gaia, LNY, Ricardo Cavolo, FinDAC & Angelina Christina, Labrona, Troy Lovegates (aka Other), Omen, Jason Botkin, Chris Dyer, EnMasse, Stare, Squid called Sebastian, Le Bonnard, Paria Crew, A’shop, Wzrds gng.

Read the rest of this article »

Drawing for the Masses is a group show of about a dozen international street showing, not just any drawings, but personal drawings and prepatory sketches that would be the blueprints for eventual murals. While a rough sketch of an existing mural may not seem that exiting, 999 Gallery assures you that these works are sometimes more precious to the artist than the public work since these were not intended for others to see. So, stop by to see see the personal work of 108, AndrecoBorondo, Gaia, 2501, Guy Denning, Hitnes, Lucamaleonte, Martina Merlini, Moneyless, Ozmo and Tellas.

The show opened last night in Rome’s 999 Gallery.

Gaia, Nanook, Mata Ruda and LNY are trying to raise some money on Kickstarter to paint some arabber stables in Baltimore. Arabbers are fruit venders who sell fruit on the street from horse-drawn carts. Gaia already painted one mural at their stable last summer.

These four artists are all known as talented muralists, but they also do great sketches. Which is lucky because funders of the project can get some very affordable sketches for helping out.

Check out more about the mural project here.

Dabs Myla

LA’s Thinkspace Gallery is coming to my city of Philadelphia soon for a show they’ve curated at Philadelphia’s Gallery 309. LAX / PHL will include work from dozens of artists including Dabs Myla, Gaia, Ghostpatrol, La Pandilla, and Pixel Pancho, but the highlight is likely to be an installation by NoseGo. Thinkspace Gallery is suggesting that this show includes artists from the “New Contemporary Art Movement.” I call it that movement “The artists that Juxtapoz might cover,” but whatever. The point is, there’s gonna be a lot of really impressive artwork at this show.

LAX / PHL opens on Saturday, May 11th from 6-10pm, and runs through June 21st. There will be a second opening reception on June 7th from 6-10pm to coincide with Philadelphia’s First Friday art events.

Photo courtesy of Thinkspace Gallery

Rowdy and Gold Peg in Leeds

I missed last week’s link-o-rama because I was in Boston for the Barry McGee show at the ICA Boston. So worth the trip (more on that soon), but for now here’s what I missed:

• Wow. So many great murals at La Bienal de Arte Urbano in Bolivia: Erica il Cane x Bastardilla, Charquipunk, Decertor, Inti… Definitely check those out.
• Hooked visited with Gaia while he prepared a new linoblock print for his upcoming London solo show.
• Josh MacPhee of Just Seeds is speaking tonight in Philadelphia.
• A really great community mural.
• A young Canadian Instagram user was arrested for a photo she posted of a piece of street art because they thought she made the piece. Well, if I ever go to Montreal, I guess I should be careful about what I post to my Instagram.
• They sold out pretty quickly so I’m sorry I didn’t get to this sooner, but Essam (the artist who did those great NYPD/drone ad disruptions) released a few prints of those posters at 1xRun last week.
• Russian street artist Pasha 183 (think along the lines of Banksy or SpY) has died at the age of 28.
• The fantastic artist Nychos will be showing at the equally fantastic Galo Art Gallery in Turin, Italy later this month. A great pairing.
• Cre8tive YouTH*ink & Centrefuge Public Art Project are raising money through Indiegogo to work with teens to make a series of murals in NYC.

Photo courtesy of Rowdy

OX

It’s content I missed. Check it out.

• The East Gallery, a section of the Berlin Wall covered in art and still standing, was knocked down this week.
• New print available from Pixelpancho.
• Or if plush is more your thing, check out Personal Jesus by Dave the Chimp.
• Some really great murals by Run in Gambia and Senegal.
• Barry McGee has a show opening in Fort Worth this week.
• I really like the placement and scale of this piece by Liqen.
• Rap + site specific work + Jay Shells = Yes.
• Adam Cost is on the cover of the Village Voice this week.
• Gaia’s first solo show in London opens at Nelly Duff next month.

Photo by OX

The SwanLion Upon Africa

Gaia was in Newcastle, UK last month for some murals organized by Unit44. I’ve got photos of the wall here, but I think the video Gaia made with Unit44 is even more interesting. In it, he speaks about the challenges of being a muralist/street artist trying to do more than just impose advertising (aka street art) onto communities. I don’t agree with everything he says, but he makes some very valuable and interesting points.

The Sheep Above Byker Wall

Photos by David Bilbrough

A few weeks ago, Acrylic Walls shared photos of their mural residency in South Africa, which includes artists Gaia, Freddy Sam, Jaz, and Know Hope. Local Freddy Sam has brought together international artists for, what I termed, a love letter to South Africa. However, sometimes love bites back.

One local took to Gaia‘s wall to voice his disapproval of the piece with not enough buff paint. Being an advocate for community and public space, Gaia used what some would view as heartbreaking into an opportunity to engage with the surrounding neighborhood. A hand erasing his Edwardian-animal hybrid has been accompanied by the phrase “revisionisme, uit te vee,” or “to erase revisionism” in Afrikaans. By commenting on the methodologies behind his piece, Gaia acknowledges the temporality of his work as well as its effects on those who, by their proximity to the piece, become forced viewers.

Photos Courtesy of Gaia

Over the last two years, Gaia has traveled the world, from Europe to Asia, South America to Africa, and all across the United States, not to mention he also brought in artists from across the globe to Baltimore for his mural festival Open Walls Baltimore. Gaia’s effort to connect his street art with the historical context of its location has resulted in homages to architects, images representative of carefully researched histories, and murals that have meaning to the people who will interact with them everyday.

Recently, Gaia published a zine entitled “Second Cities” that speaks to the street art experience; both of the artist and of the audience. He addresses the dialogue that is created by street art in its physical context. With that context, readers follow Gaia with a personal anecdote on how he disguised himself as a construction worker and attempted to put up a large wheatpaste on a failed housing project in Chicago as cops watched.

Gaia illustrates the importance of cities’ infrastructure and the frequently interesting yet ill-regarded histories of the places he tries to beautify.

The best part of all is that the zine is available and free for download here.

Image courtesy of Gaia