“Ostend isn’t a metropolis like London, Berlin and Paris” explains Belgian art curator Bjørn Van Poucke to reporter Colin Clapson. He’s referring to the limitation in the number of walls available for legal murals. He should know, he’s responsible for The Crystal Ship, a contemporary art festival that has taken place in this coastal city since 2016 and has become one of the most significant street art festivals in Europe, attracting renowned artists from around the world.
“Ostend certainly has an impressive collection of street art with a wide variety of large and small pieces painted on all kinds of residential and commercial buildings,” says renowned photographer Martha Cooper, who was invited there by Mr. Van Poucke this year. “There’s a good paper map available at the tourist office and also an excellent website so people can find the walls,” says Cooper.
Every year the Crystal Ship invites a diverse range of international artists to create large-scale murals and public art installations throughout the city – names have included well-known and regarded artists like Miss Van, Alexis Diaz, and Fintan Magee – each bringing their own aesthetic to this festival/event that receives support from a mix of private and government funding that is local and national. For more about the past artists, you can check out The Crystal Ship website. Many of these artists’ work can also be found in Ruby Gallery, where Van Poucke and co-owner Thierry Dubois organize exhibitions on canvas.
In the past, the festival has showcased over 60 murals and art installations, and many are spaced far from one another, so Ms. Cooper tells us she had an excellent driver named Lorre Soenen to take her around. “He was very knowledgeable about the murals,” she says.
“Bringing people closer to art is the aim of The Crystal Ship” explains Mayor Bart Tommelein on the VRT news website. “It happens at the heart of the city, on walls at the centre of neighbourhoods, where people live and work.”
A quick shout out today to a not-for-profit organization we work with in Norway called Nuart, whose Street Art festival is one of the best and which celebrated its 15th year this September. As a fundraiser for the dedicated art collectors this year Nuart produced a collection of 15 plates in boxed set to fund-raise and to make a record of their evolutionary timeline.
Limiting the color range to red, black and white, the collection includes works by artists whom have crossed paths with and made important contributions to the graffiti/Street Art/urban art oeuvre – in some cases spanning decades.
The boxed set of plates is for the seriously committed collector and contains original signed works by Bortusk Leer (UK, Jamie Reid (UK, Dotdotdot (NO), Isaac Cordal (ES), Martha Cooper (US), Futura (US), Fra Biancoshock (IT), Martin Whatson (Handfinished) (NO), Icy & Sot (IR), Ella & Pitr (FR), Sandra Chevrier (CA), Dotmasters (UK), Mobstr (UK), M-City (Hand-sprayed original) (PL), and Pixel Pancho (IT).
NUART FESTIVAL 15TH ANNIVERSARY BOXSET: 2001 – 2015
NUART 2015 . Box Set. Futura. (photo courtesy of NUART)
NUART 2015 . Box Set. Mobstr. (photo courtesy of NUART)
A visually compelling show formed solely from text and pattern based pieces, Write and Repeat is a modern exploration of the two much celebrated forms.
Patterns are all around us. The repetition of shapes and colours form our environment, our natural and manmade landscapes. Even the landscape of our minds are built upon patterns and repetition; the habits and rituals, the ‘rites’ that we perpetuate.
The use of text in art has drastically evolved over time, and has been used as a purely visual element, as a more direct form of artistic expression, a political tool, and as an art form in its own right. From blatant slogans to seemingly meaningless shapes, text in art offers a unique opportunity for expression.
By combining the two exclusively, we hope to create a visually and mentally captivating collection for January 2013.
Featuring:
Arth Daniels, Charlie Anderson, Chloe early, Cyrcle, D*Face, David Bray, Eelus, EINE, Hayden Kays, Jim Houser, Josie Morway, Julie Impens, Kai & Sunny, Lucas (Cyclops), Maya Hayuk, Mobstr, Nylon, Pete Fowler, Ryca, Sylvia Ji, Shepard Fairey, Tilt, Usugrow, Will Barras, Word To Mother and more.
We’re counting down the last 12 days of 2012 with Street Art photos chosen by BSA readers. Each one was nominated because it has special meaning to a reader or is simply a photograph from 2012 that they think is great. Our sincere thanks to everyone who shared their favorite images.
Our tenth entry comes from photographer Ian Cox and was taken at this year’s NUART Festival in Stavanger, Norway. This entry was nominated by Martyn Reed, founder of NUART, who waxes below about the photo and it’s taker.
“Ian Cox, fast becoming one of the scenes’ leading documentarians, captured this perfect shot of Mobstr’s piece for Nuart. Ian headed out during a relentless downpour and waited for his moment. For me, it captures so much of what is usually missed when documenting street works; its site specificity (The downhill sloping wall was a nightmare to source), how it’s not only seen but also “activated” by people passing by, its humour, the concept and how it allows a photographer to also add new layers of meaning.”
The initial pun is elevated to new levels when viewed through the lens of a remarkable photographer,” remarks Mr. Reed.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
