BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
Welcome BSA Images of the Week, to a new snowfall in the city, and the Taylor Bowl, or is that the Kendrick Bowl? This week, according to the Scottish SUN, Banksy could lose the right to his own name in a landmark case against the world famous artist. Don’t worry, you can still use that “Girl with Balloon” stencil on the wall of your baby’s bedroom.
The White House is running a masterclass in rapid-fire policy moves, deploying a ‘shock and awe’ strategy that keeps everyone—reporters, analysts, and politicians alike—scrambling to keep up. This week alone, the administration launched a ‘Faith Office’, proposed a federal task force to tackle anti-Christian bias, slapped sanctions on ICC officials looking into U.S. and Israeli military actions, floated the idea of turning Gaza into the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’, and sent Congress a $7 billion arms sale notification for Israel. It’s a policy blitzkrieg that leaves no time to process one move before the next headline drops. Some of these proposals will gain traction, and others will fizzle, but the message is clear: the news cycle belongs to them. We haven’t heard a lot of policy changes that repair the holes in the social safety net and help the poor and struggling middle class yet, but we’re sure those are just around the corner.
Meanwhile, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is catching heat to clarify a contentious ICE memo. Critics say it gives federal immigration agents way too much leeway, potentially endangering city employees and immigrant communities alike. We’re not cracking any jokes here because it’s too serious, and too many people living in New York are impacted. The anti-immigrant fever that has infected parts of the US has thus far not surfaced here in any appreciable quantity, perhaps because New York has traditionally been proud to be a city of immigrants.
While you won’t find murals explicitly tackling these new and rekindled political firestorms (yet), the chaotic, overlapping narratives on NYC’s walls feel like a fitting reflection of the moment. Confusion, authority, resistance, chaos, cats—it’s all out there, spray-painted and wheat-pasted for anyone paying attention.
Here’s our weekly conversation with the street, this week featuring Shiro, Sticker Maul, Werds, One Rad Latina, Dzel, George Collagi, Jocelyn Tsajh, Quaker Pirate, Guadalupe Rosales, and Lokey Calderon.
