This is part 2 of a series of new works from the 10th Annual Street Art Fest Grenoble, with photographs by veteran photographer Martha Cooper. The massive variety, quantity, and quality of works at Grenoble place it ahead of many festivals, as you can see here. Many of the murals are in context with their surroundings and collaborate with them in a meaningful way. For its 2024 edition, the Street Art Fest Grenoble-Alpes celebrates its 10th anniversary under the direction of Jérôme Catz and The Spacejunk Art Center. Today we focus strictly on the big statements, and there are many.
Fast and furious, that’s how the neighborhood filled with people – and how the paint hit the walls yesterday. Returning today long after the aerosol cloud dissipated, we discover so many things the first time we missed. In truth, it wasn’t all finished when we left earlier, and the artworks came to life while we were gone. Some even climbed walls. Here’s a quick rundown of the first few that we capture in their entirety, as artists for this years’ ‘Hit the North’ boarded planes, trains, and automobiles to places in the country and out – leaving behind a stunning array of new pieces in Belfasts’ Cathedral Quarter.
A dynamic duo whose steps are in sync, Vibes has the style and the letters, and Odisy wows with the characters precisely drawn. Together this London based team show you how their world pops off the wall like a page from your favorite graphic novel. With solid skills in graffiti for years, it is good to see such a shared dedication to the culture and an updated version of it as well.
Perspicere, a leading figure in East London’s street art scene, mesmerizes with his enchanting string portraits and large-scale installations. Using single long threads, he creates intricate, nostalgic narratives that evoke themes of vulnerability and self-discovery. With exhibitions in galleries, museums, and street art festivals, Perspicere’s work continues to captivate audiences with a live-action technique that borders on sorcery.
Zabou, a French street artist based in London, specializes in realistic black and white portraits, skillfully capturing expression and emotions with her subjects. With over a decade of experience, she has created about 250 large-scale murals across 22 countries, infusing each piece with inspiration drawn from everyday life in the surrounding environment. Contemporary and universal, it remains human.
The Spain-based Lidia Cao is a contemporary artist favoring emotive paintings that explore themes of identity, memory, and connection. Introspection rules the day, as do her tight lines and bold colors.
Sr. Papá Chango is a Mexican artist based in Berlin. He often paints vibrant realms of his own construction and everyday scenes, merging his fantastical characters with otherwise mundane scenes or offbeat scenes imbued with a hint of baroque opulence.
Entertaining illustrator of characters and large-scale and loved Belfast muralist Kev Largey took on a rollikick horizontal strip with his buddy Pens to liven up the corner here at Hit the North.
Veks Van Hillik is a French street artist known for his captivating and surreal murals, draws inspiration from nature (often fish), pop culture, and art history. His unique style, influenced by artists like Gustave Doré and Salvador Dalí, features intricate details, richly warmed colors, painterly strokes, and fantastical creatures. Based in Toulouse, Hillik has left his mark on cities across Europe with his paintings, aiming to evoke emotion and curiosity while inviting viewers into a world of boundless imagination.
Eoin, an enigmatic artist with roots in 90s-era graffiti, has also roamed the globe, adorning walls across four continents with his mesmerizing anamorphia and energetic abstraction. With training in Fine Art Sculpture from the UK, he delved into painting in the city’s margins, drawn to abandoned sites and the allure of vast outdoor canvases. While his outdoor escapades once took center stage, he now crafts a harmonious fusion between his street art adventures and his studio explorations, weaving together a narrative that crosses boundaries.
Hurmorous FGB – or Francois Got Buffed, is an artist in Belfast known for his versatility in illustration, painting, and cartoon art. His vibrant use of colors and tightly rendered outlines immediately draw attention, creating visual entertainment that conveys narratives or roundabout societal commentary. Through his art, FGB sometimes brings attention to overlooked or disregarded issues, connecting with viewers of all demographics and leaving a lasting impact with his ability to engage audiences regardless of background.
Kitsune Jolene, born Jolien De Waele in Ghent, Belgium, has a background in Visual Art & Architecture and experience assisting others on the street art scene. She embraced spray paint in 2017 and has expanded her reach from Belgium to Portugal and Dubai. Her portraits of women, animals, and nature reference myths, dreams, and folkloric storytelling.
Decoy likes big walls for his flat graphic abstract and plenty of the current palettes for illustration-style rendering. From Cork, Decoy can tell the real thing from a facsimile easily…
Friz, originally from Sligo, on the northwest (Atlantic) coast of Ireland, is a visual artist currently based in Bangor, Co. Down. Working fluently across both digital and traditional mediums, she adeptly blends aerosols and acrylics to realize her creations, adjusting her technique to suit the canvas at hand. Her art delves deep into the layers of history, myths, and folklore, serving as a conduit for cultural exploration and enlightenment. Her portfolio often concerns formidable female figures and their interconnectedness with the natural world, offering reflection and aspiration.
As the busy streets of Belfast hum with anticipation for the weekend’s festivities, an air of artistic energy and cultural vibrancy permeates the city, punctuated by the occasional liberty of a flying seagull overhead to remind you this is a historic port town.
“There’s a lot on,” says the cashier at Sawers, a specialty food shop that will sell you some smoked salmon or a bucket of mixed olives or a plate of boxty (a traditional Irish grated potato pancake). On your way to a talk by Bill Rolston at the Ulster Museum about his 40 years photographing political murals in Belfast, you’ll have a chance encounter with artist Lidia Cao atop a cherry picker. This Gen Z muralist offers a glimpse into the creative fervor igniting the city, and this time. Her solitary portraits of young women in contemplative states are lyrical; Cao’s work adds a touch of introspection to this urban landscape.
Meanwhile, French muralist Veks Van Hillik is hard at work, channeling the spirit of Irish mythology into his latest creation. Inspired by the legendary tale of the Salmon of Knowledge, Hillik’s mural depicts a nine-eyed fish, a symbol of wisdom and insight. “I grew up in a countryside not unlike the ones here – where we have a lot of landscapes like the one I placed here behind this Salmon of Knowledge,” he says while speaking of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France. Drawing from the techniques of Flemish painters like Flanders and Jan van Eyck, Hillik’s brand-new masterpiece promises to transport viewers into an enchanting surreality.
Two blocks away, Mexican artist Sr. Papá Chango references those warm painting techniques as well. Still, his references are to the homey reproductions that are sometimes found in family homes – eventually given to a charity second-hand store. Since his painting is on the side of such a store that sells donated homewares and personal goods to benefit those in need, it’s a perfect way to render his golden vase, which accompanies one of his signature imagined creatures. The 4-leaf clover not only refers to good luck but to the tales told in Ireland for decades, or centuries perhaps.
As the city pulses with excitement, visitors are spoiled for choice with many events, attractions, and conversations. From the Moy Park Belfast City Marathon to the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival to the Festival of Fools, there’s no shortage of arts and entertainment. If you seek the thrill of live music that invites you to participate, the streets are also blessed with live musicians playing on wee stages in bars and pubs; everything from American country covers of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers to “Whisky in a Jar” and “Wild Rover” to Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”. Not that they compare to the floating euphoria of the periodic hen & stag parties on “party bikes” as they roll past you singing with unmatched enthusiasm, their voices bouncing off small winding brick streets. Notable songs sung at the top of lungs this afternoon were “Wonderwall” from Oasis, and a screaming rendition of “Back to December” from, yes, Taylor Swift.
But perhaps the true highlight of the weekend lies in the celebrated tradition of street art, as “Hit the North” returns for its 12th installment. Spearheaded by the brilliant self-effacing cultural advocate and organizer Adam Turkington of SeedHead Arts, this small team of creatives and producers somehow host and direct over 60 local and international artists who have arrived to showcase their ideas and talents on the streets. And while the May Day March on Writer’s Square is raising consciousness about Palestinians in Gaza, we’ll save stories about that very public demonstration for, as they say, another day.
‘If you can see the mountains, it’s going to rain. If you can’t see the mountains, it’s already raining.’ – just one of the witty quips that people here say to face the soggy inclemency. It helps that all that rain has brought a spring that is deeply green and blossomed. On a foggy spritz of a day like today, the enthusiasm and stoic insistence on enjoying the public sphere is on proud display here in Belfast. Maybe we’re just suckers for emotive expression, but coupled with the occasional poem someone recites on a barstool or a park bench, these songs all make one feel nostalgic and yearning, even if you’re drinking a Guinness Open Gate Pure Brew.
The weeklong celebration will culminate in a ‘Block party’ on Sunday 5th May where spectators can soak up the party atmosphere and enjoy entertainment, food trucks, and refreshments as they watch murals come to life. HTN 24 will welcome an impressive list of international street artists.
Here in Basque country you can casually drive between Bilbao (Spain) and Bayonne (France) as if you were just heading out to the shopping mall to buy new kicks. The signs of course are in multiple languages (Spanish, French, Basque) and there is much more political street art in these towns- addressing topics like fracking, racism, women’s rights and amnesty for political prisoners.
With an atmosphere that is more politically charged than other parts of the world, you can quickly forget it when you see so many rolling green hills dotted with puffy round sheep and old white farm houses along the highway.
Arriving in Bayonne we were happy to see many of the medieval small streets still boast Gothic-style cathedrals, a cloister here, the occasional castle there. It’s a walkable city with centuries of history, conservative cultural values, and a cool Street Art festival from the last few years called Points de Vue. Co-Founder Alban Morlot obliged us with a tour of the city and a multitude of murals produced over the past few years (You can read here our article of the recent 2018 edition of the festival with exclusive images from Martha Cooper and Nika Kramer).
Headquartered in the public/privately run community center/gallery called SpaceJunk since the early 2000’s Alban and director Jérome Catz have been organizing shows here and in Lyons and Grenoble as their interests and network of artists has expanded. The two met when Catz was better known as a celebrity snowboarder organizing an art show for a sponsoring brand, and Marlot attended the show as a self-described “groupie”.
With a common interest is providing artists a platform and complementary abilities with funding and collecting, the two have gone on to mount shows and festivals in their organic path through the lenses of “board culture”, graffiti, Street Art, Lowbrow and Pop Surrealism.
Shows and exhibitions over the last decade and a half have included artists such as Lucy McLauchlan, Adam Neate, Will Barras, Jeff Soto, Laurence Vallières, Robert Williams, Robert Crumb, Isaac Cordal, Vhils, C215, Slinkachu, Ron English, Zevs, Shepard Fairey, JR, Lister, Augustine Kofie, Beast, NeverCrew, Monkey Bird, Daleast, and Seth.
A topic close to our heart for a decade, they also began a new film festival for there 2017 edition of the Grenoble Street Art Fest.
Headquartered in the public/privately run community center/gallery called SpaceJunk since the early 2000’s Alban and director Jérome Catz have been organizing shows here, Lyons, and Grenoble as their interests and network of artists has expanded. The two met when Catz was better known as a celebrity snowboarder organizing an art show for a sponsoring brand, and Marlot attended the show as a self-described “groupie”.
With a common interest is providing artists a platform and complementary abilities with funding and collecting, the two have gone on to mount shows and festivals in their organic path through the lenses of “board culture”, graffiti, Street Art, Lowbrow and Pop Surrealism. Shows and exhibitions over the last decade and a half have included artists such as Lucy McLauchlan, Adam Neate, Will Barras, Jeff Soto, Laurence Vallières, Robert Williams, Robert Crumb, Isaac Cordal, Vhils, C215, Slinkachu, Ron English, Zevs, Shepard Fairey, JR, Lister, Augustine Kofie, Beast, NeverCrew, Monkey Bird, Daleast, and Seth. A topic close to our heart for a decade, they have also began a film festival for there 2017 edition of the Grenoble Street Art Fest.
As we walk through a very windy afternoon that kicks up the new construction dust that coats this neighborhood by the river, Alban talks to us about the suspicious embrace of locals and politicians of his work, the various working personalities of artists for the festival, the creation of a new currency by the Basque community, the tradition of socialist bars and political activists in the neighborhood, and his own connection to graffiti that began when he was hanging out in his hometown of Pau as a teenager with other skaters.
“We
would listen to music, smoke a blunt, and skate all day. At some point graffiti
became my culture,” he says of those times that formed his character and
informed his aesthetic eye. “I don’t think I realized it at the time when
I was a teenager but by the time I was 25 I said to myself ‘this is my culture’.
I know I’m not the only one to feel this way but I knew that I wanted to share
this experience and make it visible for other people in my generation.”
Walking
and riding in a car to see murals, small installations, illegal graffiti, and
formally approved artworks, you may wonder how this organizer and curator looks
at his position in an evolving urban art scene that has witnessed the arrival
and departure of many over the last 15 years. He says that his work has always
centered on the artists, and that despite the chaos and change, this may be why
he perseveres.
“My
job is to know the artist and learn where they want to go and what their
context is,” says Alban. “Afterwards I let them express their hearts without any conditions
because I want them to have the maximum pleasure to produce their art. This way
you receive the best from them.”
You may wonder where this philosophy comes from, and ask if he always felt this way.
“I think I just love artists so much,” he says. “People at Space Junk often ask me if I am an artist and I am not. I just consider artists to be very important in our lives and in society and I think we have to put artists in the middle of the system and not like they are just observers. I think artists belong in the center of society and I think people have to learn again how to listen to what they have to say. The way they present society is a very different point of view that helps us to understand who we are, who our neighbors are and help us to drive together.”
Our sincere thanks to Alban and Jérome for their work and hospitality and we hope you enjoy some of these pics from Bayonne.
Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.
Now screening :
1. ROME in the Street and the Gallery by Dioniso Punk
2. Hendrik Beikirch (ECB): East Harbor in the Netherlands
3. Michael Beerens – “Master”
4. “Art As A Weapon” Trailer
BSA Special Feature: ROME in the Street and the Gallery by Dioniso Punk
The punk rock connection to graffiti is as strong as any subculture’s – or of any people who feel marginalized in effect or practice by the dominant culture preventing their voice. The narrative that graffiti belongs exclusively to Hip Hop has been posited and disproved over time; as Jesus said, “Graffitti belongs to everyone.” *
In “Street & Gallery” we see that the need for expression, illegal and otherwise, is as urgent as ever in the Street Art scene in Rome today and for many it is a means to express opinions and philosophies that they hope will in turn push greater society forward in some way. For others it is simply to fight the stagnation.
Billed as an “unofficial video” by Dioniso Punk, the short documentary takes you into the kitchen and studio and gallery and street as a variety of artists, academics, vegetable vendors and philosophers narrate the pragmatic and the existential. Call it activism, call it a yearning for freedom, call it being generally pissed off at institutional inertia – the spirit of graffiti and it’s multiple urban art corollaries will not die. Either will arena rock and roll, despite early punk’s best wishes.
Interesting to note that the globalization of capital has not globalized all banks accounts and has thrust the xenophobia of the Italian middle class into a harsh light here, as it has elsewhere in so-called developed countries. Here we see a modern Italy struggling with ideological self-beliefs about justice and equality and wondering how they apply to a new immigrant class who has no interest in their cogitations. Moving from the educated class studio environment, the trained artist suddenly finds a social/political role, and for the first time perhaps contemplates it. Meanwhile, many in the street have never seen the inside of a studio and have a slightly different take on the state of things. Let the conversation continue.
Support was also provided by Maam – Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove di Metropoliz, Dorothy Circus Gallery, M.U.Ro. – Museo Urban di Roma, Sacripante Gallery, SMAC – Segni Mutanti.
A nod to the artists whose work is shown in the video, including Nicola “Nic” Alessandrini, Jim Avignon, Gary Baseman, Mister Thoms, Eduardo Kobra, David “Diavù” Vecchiato, Veronica Montanino, Stefania Fabrizi, Danilo Bucchi, Mauro Maugliani, Ron English, Beau Stanton, Mr. Klevra, Finbarr “Fin” DAC, Omino71, David Pompili, Ray Caesar, Afarin Sajedi, Kathie Olivas, Pablo Mesa Capella e Gonzalo Orquìn, Massimo Attardi, Gian Maria Tosatti, Malo Farfan, Franco Losvizzero, Davide Dormino, Alessandro Ferraro, Mauro Cuppone, Leonardo “Leo” Morichetti, Mauro Sgarbi, Gio Pistone, Zelda Bomba, Micaela Lattanzio, HOPNN, Massimo Iezzi, Sabrina Dan, Jago, Giovanna Ranaldi, Santino Drago, Alessandro Sardella, Fabio Mariani, Marco Casolino, Veks Van Hillik, Hogre, Dilkabear, Lucamaleonte, Diamond, Alice Pasquini, Paolo Petrangeli.
Hendrik Beikirch: East Harbor in the Netherlands
Hendrik Beikirch traveled to Heerlen in the Netherlands to paint a new mural over three and a half days. Organized by Heerlen Murals, the wizened, troubled subject adds to the series of images ECB has been creating across many walls in the last handful of years.
Michael Beerens – “Master”
Last summer the Frenchman Beerens took a trip out into the mountains and created a piece on a a small abandoned building. Ah, summer, come thou near…
“Art As A Weapon” Trailer
From Breadtruck Films, the new documentary focuses on a school in Myanmar (Burma) that teaches street art as a form of non-violent struggle. Street Artists Shepard Fairey and JR figure into the story, as does the military, art as a weapon, and art as a tool for revolution.
* Quote from Jesus Cordero, aerosol sales associate at Near Miss Hardware store in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
BROOKLYN STREET ART LOVES YOU MORE EVERY DAY
