Get ready, London, here I come!
A Summer of Street Art: From Festivals to Books.
Ciao,
How are you?
I’m picturing you on a wild, lesser-known beach, your toes in the water, your skin caressed by the sun. There’s a book, a cold beer, or maybe both waiting for you in the shade. Am I right?
As for me, I’m not at the beach. Better yet, I’m in London, the city that has played the most significant role in my life. It’s the city where I first began to discover who I am, 20 years ago, when I left Rome for the first time for a job here.
I've been longing to return for more than just a vacation! Remember the January newsletter?
I expressed my New Year’s resolution to return to the roots of BLocal blog, spending a lot of time being a local in different cities and writing about those experiences.
And so, here I am. I’m very happy to be here. When I arrived at Victoria train station two days ago, I felt a special warmth in my chest, like a wave of joy washing over me. I literally cried tears of joy.
Now, I’m in a bright house full of plants, on the eve of a new adventure. I have many plans for the coming weeks in the UK, starting with exploring my beloved London with you at the end of August (have you booked your spot yet?).
As usual, the urban walks I design for you are part of the research I’m doing here in London to prepare my upcoming London Street Art Book, which will be out shortly after the Paris Street Art Book. (The Paris book is expected to be released in September. I’ve already had a mental breakdown because of all the delays, so now the plan is to stop worrying about things I can’t control. I’ll notify you when the pre-orders are open, and that’s it—no additional stress.)
In London, I will also catch up with local artists and friends, record a series of YouTube videos with my friend and fellow street art blogger Inspiring City’s Stuart, create a series of weekly vlogs for my own YouTube channel, join a thought-provoking panel of street art experts on 'Painting Urban Narratives' organized by Global Street Art, cover the London Mural Festival for the NYC-based graffiti and street art magazine UP Mag, and many other things I just don’t know about yet.
It certainly won’t be a “relaxing” August, like the quiet, spacious, and empty Augusts in Rome, but it will be the kind of August I love, the one I wanted to gift myself for my 40th birthday. Oh yes, that happened in July too: I officially became “old.” So far, I can’t say I’ve taken it well. But, as my friend
suggested, “First think about celebrating, then we’ll see.”So, let the celebrations begin! Get ready, London, here I come!
Until next month,
Giulia
P.S. If you are on Gmail and this email went into your Promotion tab, drag the email up to the Personal tab and click yes if you want to make sure to see future emails from me. 😉
Will I see you in London?
There are still a few spots left to join fellow readers of this newsletter on a unique journey through London’s street art scene and hidden gems. I’m already in town planning five awesome urban walks across the city, happening from August 23rd to 27th.
Each walk lasts at least 8 hours, and you can book as many as you want. The final plan will be ready by Sunday, August 10th, but you can already book now to secure your spot.
Got questions? Just reply to this email!
New on the Blog!
Unveiling Tartu’s Street Art Scene at Stencibility Festival 2024
Keeping up with this intense street art festival season, which began with the CVTà Street Fest in Italy and the Wool Festival in Portugal, I kicked off July in Tartu, Estonia, the 2024 European Capital of Culture. Tartu’s street art scene is truly unique, and I was thrilled to be invited by the Stencibility crew to document their jubilee edition—15 years of the wildest street art festival out there.
Since its inception in 2010, Stencibility has celebrated independent street art, unfiltered creativity, spontaneity, and the freedom for artists to create without constraints.
But wait, there’s also one of my spontaneous vlogs!
Vision Art Festival: Taking Street Art to New Heights on the Swiss Alps
After Stencibility, I spent a few days in Riga, Latvia, which I'll tell you about in the future, before heading off to the Vision Art Festival in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, at 2000 meters! I always emphasize the importance of context in street art because, unlike a canvas, a mural is tied to its setting. The Vision Art Festival offers a truly unparalleled context—the Rhone Valley. Here, artists step outside their urban comfort zones, interacting creatively with the natural surroundings.
But wait, I also made one of my informal vlogs!
Urban Art Books
Street Art Books I’m Reading This Month
If there’s one thing you can count on in this newsletter, it’s that the sections tend to come and go as they please. 😂 This month, I’m excited to introduce a new section where I’ll share with you two urban art-themed books I’m currently reading.
“Instafame: Graffiti and Street Art in the Instagram Era” by Lachlan MacDowall
By analyzing over 23 million pieces of public data from Instagram, Lachlan MacDowall provides a comprehensive examination of how this social media platform has transformed the creation, distribution, and reception of graffiti and street art.
Recognizing that Instagram's scrolling feed resembles the experience of viewing graffiti from a moving train with its continuous stream of captivating visuals, Lachlan MacDowall contends that Instagram's focus on visual engagement closely matches the aesthetic principles of graffiti and street art. This alignment, along with social media's constant competition for viewer attention, has given rise to a new form of digital visibility and fame for street artists, changing the perception of graffiti from a transient, localized phenomenon to a globally accessible art form.
“Urban Surfaces, Graffiti, and the Right to the City” by Sabina Andron
This book offers a refreshing perspective on graffiti, viewing it through the lens of urban surfaces rather than merely as art or crime. Sabina Andron argues that these surfaces are layered, dynamic sites of dialogue and urban commons where graffiti interacts with other inscriptions.
She critiques the commercialization of public art, contrasting it with politically engaged murals, and also explores the legal aspects, presenting graffiti as part of the struggle for spatial justice, highlighting the complex role of urban surfaces as spaces that challenge conventional property boundaries.
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Come sempre tutto interessante e sono dispiaciuto di non poter passare da Londra (ma il lavoro chiama!). Mi sono segnato i titoli dei libri, che fa sempre bene averli da parte ;)
Buon agosto ed ancora tanti auguri!