Tony Graffiti presents Keep Graffiti Real, Smoke Crack, Sign On… a graffiti exhibition at Green Street Arts. The exhibition launches on 14 October and will run through to 23 October.
Digbeth is Good says there’ll be…
…a house band, DJ Boogie Dave, Drop Beats Not Bombs along side DJ Rosko, as well as Emjay Ladie, DJ Punk N Ska with Justin Bond from Boogie Down Brum playing early rave and britpop.
…and I’m inclined to believe them.
There’s an interview with Chu in the latest VNA. It’s not online, but here’s an excerpt:
Where were you painting in those days?
Back then you couldn’t afford a train ticket; you’d get a coach down to Bristol with a bag of paint. Because I worked for Walsall Youth Arts, there were only three sites supported by the local authorities in the country; Barton Hill, Selly Oak and Walsall. The one in Walsall was called The Paddock, which was a sunken foundation for a block of flats. So we came up with the idea to take it over and develop it as a painting site on submission of all this bureaucracy. I became the caretaker of the place, so journeys to Bristol and Selly Oak became the backbone of my graffiti world.
This cool little video was spotted by Urbanfly. Made in celebration of Ninja Tune‘s 20th anniversary, they’ve taken over Shoreditch with the help of graffiti artist CHU who’s from Birmingham.
As One (or AsOne or AS1, depending) is one of the more prolific graf and sticker hounds around town. If you’ve ever wandered around Digbeth you’ll have seen his stuff – often evangelising the benefits of a nice cuppa.
You’ll also see designs/illustrations for nights at the Rainbow and if you see half a skateboard tied to a lamppost then chances are that’s AS1 too.
This here wall is a recent edition to Digbeth’s landscape and was done with Tempo33:
Covering walls in public places can’t be easy, but apparently (and here’s a tip):
no-one sees past a high vis jacket and a purposeful look….
Phill Blake has done a rather good job of describing himself on his website, so I’ll let him take over:
Phill Blake is an artist, designer and an illustrator from middle England who refuses to be tied down to one specific genre preferring to spread his talents over multiple art forms and retain an ever evolving style that is all terrain and knows no boundaries. His influences lie in street art, comics, hip hop or urban culture and the different sub cultures that emerge around the world.
His site’s also packed full of lots of lovely examples of his work like this one:
Leon Sparkes is an artist, painter, illustrator, author, graphic designer and music composer who’s also done bits and pieces on interior design with The Rainbow pub and Saint Caffe in St Pauls Square. I’ll let Leon explain more:
I have merged various art forms creating my own distinctive art style, creating storytelling trends and concepts. I’m enthusiastic and hard working. I’m success driven and enjoy making a difference to my space and environment. My Incentive is driven on the basis of ergonomics, our enviroment and landscape.
You can check out more of his stuff on his portfolio site.
N4T4 is an artist and illustrator with a specialism in spray paint. This is from his ‘About Page’:
I paint portraits using realism as a reference point for more abstract experimentation. The images are built in layers that become ambiguous and open to interpretation from the viewer. I am inspired by aboriginal art and graffiti; aesthetically and conceptually with their self evolved visual languages, dual meanings, temporal quality and its basis in culture, people and environment rather than just commerce.
And here’s just one example of N4T4′s work:
The Bench 504 is a graffiti store in the Custard Factory. Their blog features lots of (often Digbeth-y) street art stuff.
Nicky Getgood noticed this.
Spiritual artist Mohammed Ali, known for merging graffiti style with Islamic art, has just won an ITV South Bank Award in the Arts Council England Diversity category.
Although aerosolarabic (aka Mohammed Ali) travels worldwide to create new work he is still based in Birmingham. Recently he has painted murals in the city addressing the recent Gaza crisis and is known for painting murals highlighting the plight of the Palestinian people. Worldwide politics aside, Ali has been at the forefront of the discussing local graffiti politics, as mentioned in a post back in Jan ’08. On an international level he has managed to connect people of different communities through his art.
Overwhelmed at receiving the award, Mohammed Ali said:
“It’s an honour to accept a mainstream British Arts award. The art that I do is for everyone, it is universal. I truly believe that art enhances people’s lives and brings communities together and I hope that my work continues to inspire people from all walks of life.”
The awards will be screened on ITV on January 28th 2009.
Those that were wondering about Aldi’s involvement with Aerosolarabic‘s graffiti mural (mentioned here the other day) that overlooks the Aldi car park on the Stratford Road now have an answer. To quote the artist:
Aldi are not keen on the Feed the Poor mural, as it overlooks their car park, and they feel its not something Aldi wants to have their customers using their car park, wanting to see…?! The building that is painted, has nothing to do with Aldi
Apparently yesterday’s completion of the project went quite well until the police and Aldi’s regional manager showed up.
There’s a chance the mural may have to be painted over so Aerosolarabic, aka Mohammed Ali, has documented this on his blog where there are pics showing the mural’s progress.
Graffiti artist Mohammed Ali started work on this mural in the car park of Aldi on the Stratford Road, Sparkhill today and will be back down there at about 12pm tomorrow to finish it off.
This is a message for all the traffic that mounts along this busy road, as well as all the buses. Not very artistic, but rather a big bold message for everyone to ponder on….
Ali also goes under the Aerosolarabic name and fuses graffiti art with Islamic calligraphy. He’s worked throughout the UK and abroad, with trips to Montreal and Melbourne booked later this year. He also blogs here (where the above image is taken from).
Wolverhampton-born graffiti artist Temper has won a national competition to create a sculpture that will be installed at The Cube – the final phase of the Mailbox.
He’s now looking for six people to help bring his vision to life and is touring the Midlands looking for suitable candidates. He’ll be calling at:
Or you can nominate yourself or someone else online via the Mailbox’s website.
I first came across Temper via the Headcleaner Sessions mixtapes on his site (especially the K Delight and DJ Noize ones) which still seem to be there. He’s recently been feted by the Sunday supplements, had a design used on a Sprite can and decorated part of Saatchi & Saatchi’s London offices. The owners of The Cube weren’t wrong when they describe him to the Birmingham Post as “one of the country’s most exciting young talents”.
