Street Art is Dead, Long Live Street Art.
A chat with Alice Pasquini and Elfo at CVTà Street Fest 2025.
👋 Ciao, I'm Giulia Blocal, your street art insider. This is a *special edition* of Beyond the Walls, a monthly deep dive into street art, graffiti, off-the-beaten-path travel, and a bit of my life in between.
This is only the second time in twelve years that I’ve put a paywall on this newsletter.
After March’s first try, a few lovely folks became paid subscribers (thank you so much!), and now I feel like I owe you something special in return.
I can’t promise how often these bonus editions will land—especially with festival season in full swing and a book release just around the corner—but I carved out some time this month to say thanks. 🥰
The newsletter on the 1st of every month will always remain free for everyone. These occasional paywalled editions are simply a small thank-you to those of you helping keep this newsletter alive and open to all.
For this special edition, I’ve transcribed a panel I moderated at the 10th edition of CVTà Street Fest, on a topic I often explore here: the evolution of street art and how it can stay true to its roots while navigating an increasingly compromised system.
The panel featured two pioneers of street art in Italy: Alice Pasquini, artistic director of the festival, and Elfo, one of this year’s invited artists.
Together, we explored themes such as the Disneyfication of street art, artistic integrity, the impact of social media, and the role of festivals.
It was a rich and thought-provoking conversation, and I wanted to make sure it didn’t get lost in the moment—so I’m sharing it with you here, in this *special edition* of Beyond the Walls newsletter.
Enjoy—and see you in your inbox on July 1st with the regular newsletter edition.
Giulia
✈️ Travel with me
Whether my London Street Art Book will be out by then or still in the works, we're planning a 5-day exploration of London later this summer — from August 8 to 12. The program is still in progress, but if you're thinking of joining, drop me a message and I'll keep you posted on all the details 👉 Just reply to this email!
Street Art is Dead, Long Live Street Art.
A chat with Alice Pasquini and Elfo at CVTà Street Fest.
Giulia Blocal: Alice and Elfo have very different aesthetics, but their paths share several common points, starting with the fact that they both began painting in the streets many years ago, back when street art was still in its early days in Italy. So I’d like to begin there, to give some historical context to our conversation: what was it like to “paint in the streets” when you first started? What was the graffiti and street art scene like in Italy in the early 2000s? Also: it’s worth noting that we’re talking about two very different local contexts: Alice is from Rome, while Elfo is from Brescia.