From New York to Berlin: the seven museums of street art
The Museum of street art – a topic for discussion. Someone thinks that the legitimization of street art only does it harm, and actually negates the whole point of existence for outsider art practices. Others believe that museums of street art draw attention to the artists and allow the viewer to get in touch with their art in a more comfortable environment. "Everyone has to decide for himself what street art he wants to see – said production Director of street art Museum in Saint Petersburg and Design Mate's July guest editor, Alexander Musenko. – But in order for this decision to be objective, it is necessary to posses the information". In this article, we tell about a few museums of street art, from which one can begin their education.
Urban Spree Galerie, Berlin
Urban Spree Galerie is an independent art space within a huge old factory in the Friedrichshain district in Berlin. The total area is 1 700 sq. m. Each month there are exhibitions of contemporary street artists, and on top of that, the artists regularly paint over the walls of the building itself – a canvas 15 meters wide and 8 meters high. in Addition to the gallery, on the premises there is a bar, a shop that sells the small-circulation graphics of the artists, and books about street culture, a "playground", where they show films, and guest studios for working artists. The gallery regularly hosts master classes for beginners and festivals of street culture. 99 Revaler Strasse 99, Berlin.
Joshua Liner Gallery, New York
Joshua Liner Gallery was founded in 2008 in new York city, and although it is not fully specialized in street art, many of the artists represented within its walls – including Greg LaMarche and Tomokazu Matsuyama – work in related industries and are also involved in the dialogue between art and urban space. For instance, till the end of August the gallery will be hosting a group exhibition called "Summer Mixer". In it, Artists from Miami, Melbourne and Los Angeles mix sculpture and painting and explore the role of architecture in the viewer's perception of art objects. 540 West 28th Street, New York.
StolenSpace Gallery, London
London Gallery StolenSpace defines its own directions with the concepts of "Underground Art", "Street Art" and "Urban Art". Many of their artists specialize in graffiti, but not only. In one way or another, all of them interact with the urban art, shape it, and actively influence its development. The gallery takes pride in its inclusive relationships with street artists and that it was one of the few galleries to start showcasing them on their walls. Now, for example, within its walls an exhibition of a Montreal artist Sandra Chevrier is displayed. She makes her paintings, usually portraits of women, from layers of colorful scraps of comic books glued together. It's easy to spot the gallery by its adjoining wall, covered in graffiti, and a glowing sign above the door. StolenSpace is located in Shoreditch, one of the most fashionable and vibrant art districts of London. 17 Osborn Street, London.
Backwoods Gallery, Collingwood
Australian Backwoods Gallery is located on the territory of old warehouses in Collingwood. It was founded in 2010 and has played a major role in the formation of the street culture in Australia. In less than ten years, they held 80 exhibitions and initiated a huge number of educational projects for those not-yet "fully-fledged" street artists. The gallery was and remains independent and exists on their own funds. Backwoods owners and curators see their task in opening the world of new artists and help them find their audience everywhere, on the streets and in special art spaces. The gallery also has a shop where you can buy not only the canvases, but also clothes with their prints. 25 Easey Street, Collingwood.
Hang-Up Gallery, London
The Hang-Up gallery started out as an online gallery of street art, specializing in small-circulation prints, but today, in addition to the online site, they have a physical gallery, and among the artists displayed there are Takashi Murakami and Banksy. In fact, Hang-Up has the largest collection of Banksy drawings – they proudly talk about receiving about 100 queries on his work a week and managing to satisfy them all. However, this does not mean that access to the gallery of budding street artists is closed – they can exhibit their work and sell it on their website, as did many young artists – for example, Joe Webb, Mark Powell, and Lauren Baker - all well-known all over the world now. 81 Stoke Newington Road, London.
Subliminal Projects, Los Angeles
Subliminal Projects is a project created by painters Shepard Fairey and Blaize Blouin, in 1995. Whether they expected it or not, this workshop is mostly responsible for the introduction of street culture in related areas of art and design. Artists such as Phil Frost, Thomas Campbell, Mike Mills, Dave Aaron, and Mark Gonzales have exhibited their work in the gallery. Today, in addition to exhibitions there are lectures, seminars and discussions on topics of street culture. In September, the gallery launched an exhibition dedicated to visual language – a study on different approaches to the depiction of words in Western culture. 1331 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles.
Galerie F, Chicago
Art space Galerie F, located in the historical Logan Square in Chicago, was founded recently in 2012. The creators claim that they have made the city's first open space where anyone can come to look at the work of contemporary street artists. Despite the focus of the gallery, its owners are familiar with the serious academic art, therefore everything they put up is always more than just street art. Now, for example, there is an exhibition of works by a local artist Anna Hasseltine, who in her works, explores the world of Aesop's fables. 2415 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago.
