All posts tagged: V Ballentine

The Bushwick Collective Block Party – 13th Edition 2024 / Part 2

The Bushwick Collective Block Party – 13th Edition 2024 / Part 2

Superhero or superfan, there is something here for everyone, and usually high quality. Street Art festivals worldwide have become dull and safe, perhaps because some are funded by tax dollars or their curators lack vision. The selections at the Bushwick Collective may not make a cohesive story, it’s true.

However, a sense of history, respect for graffiti’s roots, community, narrative, and free-wheeling organic creativity cuts a through-line that still feels fresh as a summer breeze in the shade of a tree. We have so many images of this year’s block party celebration that we had to split the collection into two parts.

On this Summer Solstice, we wish you strength and the wisdom to see the truth. The false will fall away.

CP WON (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CP WON (photo © Jaime Rojo)
CP WON (photo © Jaime Rojo)
SumOne (photo © Jaime Rojo)
V Ballentine (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Enzo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Enzo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Enzo (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Ashley Hodder (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Chris Haven (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Minvske (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ZaOne. Sty. Nover. Ye. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ZaOne. Sty. Nover. Ye. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Corey Pane (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Corey Pane (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Corey Pane (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Golden35. Fo Estudio (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sen2Figueroa. Epic Uno. Hoacs. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sen2Figueroa. Epic Uno. Hoacs. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sen2Figueroa. Epic Uno. Hoacs. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sen2Figueroa. Epic Uno. Hoacs. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Thesa Miao (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Thesa Miao (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mr. Hyde (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mr. Hyde (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Miami Nate (photo © Jaime Rojo)
KMS Crew (photo © Jaime Rojo)
KMS Crew (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Its Candy. Kuo Wade. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Its Candy. Kuo Wade. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jase (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jay Dggz (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cekis (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hops Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hops Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hops Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hops Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hops Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hops Art (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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Happy Halloween 2023 From BSA

Happy Halloween 2023 From BSA

“Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the caldron boil and bake;

Flow Master Mop (photo ©Jaime Rojo)

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting,

Lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.”


~Song of the Witches: “Double, double toil and trouble”

By William Shakespeare

PoemOne (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
Ka TVT Zoo (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
Huetek (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
Remerkable1985 (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
TONE NYC (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
WERD (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
VERS718 (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
Silvia Marcon (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
TBanBox (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
Danielle Mastrion (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
Danielle Mastrion (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
Danielle Mastrion (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
V Ballentine (photo ©Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 07.30.23

BSA Images Of The Week: 07.30.23

Welcome to BSA Images of the Week!

“Lord have mercy, it is motherf_______ hot out here,” said the teenage girl standing at a bus stop near the Marcy subway station on Broadway yesterday as we trudged by. She was right, and the heat felt like waves coming off the pavement and buildings in the late afternoon haze and blasting bright sun. We leave this searing and steamy, sometimes smokey, July and stumble toward August, looking for a handkerchief and a glass of lemonade and patience. New York, at its polar extremes, is more than challenging at times for everyone on the street, on the subway platform, in the barbershop, in the laundromat, on the stoop, in traffic, and in the park. Riding your bike through the streets gives you a little breeze, and new street art regales you with news of the day.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Neckface, Plannedalism, V Ballentine, Enrinko Studios, Seb Bouchard, Words on the Street, Alex Itin, Loove Labs, Shirk, Crash 42170, George Spencer, and Snake.

Plannedalism and Erinko Studio’s tribute to Sinead O’Connor; A fierce, unapologetic, brave, determined, soulful, vulnerable, and emotionally charged singer, songwriter, performer, and truth-teller who often felt alone and lonely in this world. We followed and watched as she performed in her distinctive voice and style, often breaking new ground and speaking her truth when most people didn’t want to hear any of it. Loved for her talents and willingness to tread in deeply troubled waters, she was often ridiculed and marginalized for her bravery. Despite her public and private struggles, it looked like she had found acceptance and, hopefully, a sense of serenity in her native Ireland in recent years. May she now rest in peace. Thank you, Sinead. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Plannedalism. Erinko Studios (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Erinko Studios (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Plannedalism (photo © Jaime Rojo)
IROND (photo © Jaime Rojo)
IROND (photo © Jaime Rojo)
George Spencer (photo © Jaime Rojo)
JJ Veronis (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Noha’s Rejects (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Artist Plannedalism visualizes the relationship between popular culture, entertainment, shallow consumerism, hypocrisy, and the ongoing news about the increasingly inhumane stance of some regarding immigration, refugees, and barbed wire installed on the Texan’s Rio Grande/Southern Border. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Plannedalism. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Plannedalism. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Plannedalism. Detail. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Matt Siren (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Neckface (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Crash 42170 (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Seb Bouchard (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Words on the Street. A quote by James Joyce from Alex Itin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Shirk (photo © Jaime Rojo)
V Ballentine (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Erinko Studios (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Erinko Studios (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Loove Labs (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ERSK (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Snake (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023 – Recap

The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023 – Recap

Following the evolution of The Bushwick Collective and its annual block party in Brooklyn has been a captivating journey akin to an anthropological exploration into the growing embrace of street art and murals within the realms of graffiti and HipHop. Back in the day, as the neighborhood began transforming with the influx of gentrifiers, street art faced outright dismissal or was treated as a rare phenomenon, a curiosity.

Unaware of the previous codes that roughly governed the practices of graffiti writers on the street, art-students-cum-street-art-poets often obtusely stomped their way into public view to circumvent a gallery system and to express their right to self-expression in public; something HipHop culture had been encouraging for years but had perhaps not envisioned this way. The rivalry between graffiti aficionados and street artists/muralists was sometimes palpable, with throwies vandalizing fresh paint, the OGs asserting territorial dominance, and at times, even resorting to threats and insults in person and in online forums.

Huetek celebrating the location of the so-called ‘Birth of HipHop’, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in The Bronx. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

As the block party, now in its twelfth year, unfolded, its early editions predominantly featured international and some local street artists eagerly seeking out BC’s visionary leader, Joe Ficalora, for an opportunity to leave their mark on his neighborhood walls. Local street art forums found fault with Ficalora, masking a barely hidden contempt for a streetwise guy taking a leadership role and betraying their own classist privileged opinions about the right to curation. That has all melted appreciably; this year’s event evidenced the remarkable shift that has been underway. Graffiti writers took the stage alongside the muralists in prime spots, sometimes seamlessly collaborating to create art transcending boundaries, all while the electrifying sounds of live HipHop performances reverberated through the air and TikTokers danced in front of them.

SEPC. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

Let’s raise a bottle to those who always believed in the possibility of this transformative phenomenon, and to those who championed inclusivity over exclusivity. It’s yet another reason why our hearts beat for this extraordinary international art movement, the embodiment of the people’s democratic spirit and the unlimited creative spirit that is in every person. And most importantly, it’s a reminder of why we hold you dear.

SEPC. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Tymon De Laat. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Urban Ruben. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Urban Ruben. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
V Ballentine. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Zach Curtis in collaboration with Danny Cortes – recreating an iconic New York deli exterior in all its glory. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Zach Curtis in collaboration with Danny Cortes. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Zach Curtis in collaboration with Danny Cortes. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Naylor. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hodder. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Hodder. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Vexta. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Vexta. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Dasic Fernandez. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Enjoy Hads. Six Million Dollar Steve. Mr. Makro. Brandy. Creating a tribute to David Jude Jolicoeur, who rapped as Trugoy the Dove in the trio De La Soul. He passed away in February at 54. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Enjoy Hads. Six Million Dollar Steve. Mr. Makro. Brandy. Creating a tribute to David Jude Jolicoeur, who rapped as Trugoy the Dove in the trio De La Soul. He passed away in February at 54. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Enjoy Hads. Six Million Dollar Steve. Mr. Makro. Brandy. Creating a tribute to David Jude Jolicoeur, who rapped as Trugoy the Dove in the trio De La Soul. He passed away in February at 54. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Enjoy Hads. Six Million Dollar Steve. Mr. Makro. Brandy. Creating a tribute to David Jude Jolicoeur, who rapped as Trugoy the Dove in the trio De La Soul. He passed away in February at 54. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Roachi. Hoacs. Quest. Fours Crew. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Roachi. Hoacs. Quest. Fours Crew. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Roachi. Hoacs. Quest. Fours Crew. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Roachi. Hoacs. Quest. Fours Crew. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Roachi. Hoacs. Quest. Fours Crew. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mate Artist. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mate Artist. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Cody James. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Corey Pane. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Corey Pane. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mr. Blob. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mr. Blob. Detail. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mr. Blob. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mister Alek. TankOne. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mister Alek. TankOne. The Bushwick Collective Block Party 2023. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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The Bushwick Collective – Block Party 2023 Now Underway

The Bushwick Collective – Block Party 2023 Now Underway

The Bushwick Collective Annual Summer Block Party, now on its 12th edition, has established itself as an official opener of the Summer season in New York City. With its combination of art, music, and food, this is at its root a street art initiative founded and provided by local resident and business owner Joe Ficalora. Joe continues to show his steadfast dedication to the community with a significant, free open event for everybody in the family to enjoy.

Artists from around the world and local artists are invited to create vibrant and large-scale murals that encompass all disciplines, including graffiti in a very big way, on the walls of buildings in Bushwick. Making public space safer for the public to enjoy, many streets are closed off, allowing attendees to roam freely and explore the various murals, including many that are being created by the artists as passersby watch. Live music performances by local performers and DJs add to the festive atmosphere, with food trucks, vendors, and art installations – a true community event for people of all backgrounds.

Here are some of the new murals and installations underway. We’ll bring you a recap of the newly finished pieces soon. Enjoy!

Ruben Ubiera. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ENJOY. MAKRO. ASIA. SURE78. BRANDY. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ENJOY. MAKRO. ASIA. SURE78. BRANDY. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
ENJOY. MAKRO. ASIA. SURE78. BRANDY. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Jason Naylor. WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Zach Curtis in collaboration with Danny Cortes. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Zach Curtis in collaboration with Danny Cortes. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mate Artist. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Tymon De Laat. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Huetek. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
You may see Martha Cooper’s photos of Dondi and Ken Swift from Rock Steady Crew here, as well as Grandmaster Caz. Huetek. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
1520 refers to the address 1520 Sedgewick Avenue in the Bronx, historically referred to by many as the birthplace of Hip Hop. Huetek. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Vince Ballentine. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
TankOne. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
TankOne. Detail/WIP. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 03.06.22

BSA Images Of The Week: 03.06.22

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Welcome to BSA Images of the Week. The outcry over the Russian invasion of Ukraine has overwhelmed all other news “coverage”.

In his State of the Union speech this week Biden even conflated sanctions with domestic inflation – but it was already 7.5% annually for a full year before the Ukraine invasion. Using that logic, Putin is also the reason you have no Medicare for All, and the reason there is no student loan debt forgiveness.

The horrible truth is Putin is destroying a country before our global eyes, in between commercials. And thankfully Condeleeza Rice is here to explain that invading a sovereign nation is a war crime.

New York has so many beautiful communities and we value our Russian and Ukrainian neighbors. We refuse to demonize a whole community collectively, and hopefully you do too.

However repugnant the idea, let’s look for a diplomatic solution on the world stage to this crisis if it is all possible. We all have too much to lose if we don’t try in this incredibly difficult moment in history.

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring: Pear, Subway Doodle, Txemy, Calicho Art, V Ballentine, Under Wave Walls, Mike Raz, Tony Tuan Luong, Manuel Alejandro, Smetsky Art, Deborah Kass, Lady Vday, Sage Gallon, and Michael Neff.

Unidentified artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mike Raz & Smetsky Art in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Mike Raz & Smetsky Art in collaboration with The L.I.S.A. Project NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Tony Tuan Luong in Barcelona. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Tony Tuan Luong in Barcelona. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Txemy in Barcelona. (photo © Lluis Olive Bulbena)
Deborah Kass transformed her YO/OY sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum by wrapping it in blue material. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
V Ballentine in collaboration with Under Hill Walls (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Lady Vday in collaboration with Under Hill Walls (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Sage Gallon in collaboration with Under Hill Walls (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Manuel Alejandro NYC in collaboration with Under Hill Walls (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Calicho Art in collaboration with Under Hill Walls (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pumpkin (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Subway Doodle (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Brooklyn Bitch Bakery (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Michael Neff (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Pear/Par (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Unidenfitied artist (photo © Jaime Rojo)
Untitled. Winter 2022. Brooklyn, NYC. (photo © Jaime Rojo)
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BSA Images Of The Week: 11.27.16

BSA Images Of The Week: 11.27.16

brooklyn-street-art-osch-jaime-rojo-11-27-2016-web-1

BSA-Images-Week-Jan2015

It’s beginning to look a lot like an arms race, every where you turn. At least that is what comes to mind when seeing the silhouetted tree at the center of Otto Schade’s new holiday piece in London above.  In other news – New York hate crimes have spiked as well as across the country (along with hate graffiti), the country is increasingly dismayed over the military-style defense of an oil pipeline  against indigenous people and protestors during Thanksgiving week in the #NoDAPL demonstrations, and there is movement to re-count of general election ballots because of unusual results in key states being questioned by a scientist group. Aside from that everything is going fantastic. Miami is hosting a ton of Street Artists this week for Art Basel – and today is .

Here’s our weekly interview with the street, this week featuring Alanis, Amberellaxo, Aquarela, Axer, BE Zany, Below Key, Cuke, Himbad, Jilly Ballistic, Jorit Agoch, June, Lunge Box, Osch, Otto Schade, Queen Andrea, Ralp, RX Skulls, Thiago Gomez, and V Ballentine.

Otto “Osch” Schade “Peace and Love” fresh new stencil in London. Nov. 2016. (photo © Otto Schade)

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Otto “Osch” Schade “Peace and Love” fresh new stencil in London. Nov. 2016. (photo © Otto Schade)

brooklyn-street-art-jilly-ballistic-jaime-rojo-11-27-2016-web

Jilly Ballistic (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-own-it-jaime-rojo-11-27-2016-web

Amberellaxo. Own It…especially if your break it… (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lunge Box (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Lunge Box (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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FREE. Axer and Cuke at the Teufelsberg in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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June (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Queen Andrea (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Below Key (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Below Key (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Unidentified artist at the Teufelsberg in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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V Ballentine for JMZ Walls in Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Jorit Agoch’s portrait of Questlove. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Aquarela for JMZ Walls in Brooklyn. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Unidentified artist at the Teufelsberg in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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RX Skulls in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-magzaniy-jaime-rojo-11-27-2016-web

B Zany (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-ralp-jaime-rojo-11-27-2016-web

Ralp in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Himbad and Alaniz at Teufelsberg in Berlin. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

brooklyn-street-art-dave-jaime-rojo-11-27-2016-web

Dave is the name written here on this poster that looks like it is part of the large boycott against the Canada Goose brand for it’s alleged abuse and torture of animals, including coyotes. A protest by PETA and others in Soho at a store last week may have something to do with it as well. The pink stencil is an addition to this poster. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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Untitled. SOHO, NYC. Fall 2016. (photo © Jaime Rojo)

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