GLOBETROTTERS WRITING PROMPT
Street Art — The Finale
From murals and graffiti over plant installations to living statues
While we weren’t sure if we should skip hosting a challenge in August as many would be busy with vacations and summer fun, we decided against it and were blown away by your response to our prompt.
Street art turned out to be the most popular topic we’ve hosted so far here at Globetrotter’s and you flooded us with 46 submissions to the prompt. All of them, without any exception, are outstanding submissions.
So what should I say? The murals, sculptures and other installations presented in those photo essays shared pieces of history, presented a stage for demonstrations or were simply a beautiful display of art.
It’s been amazing to read through every single photo essay and marvel at the beauty artists have created on the streets of the world. Yet, so many submissions didn’t make it easy for us to pick a favorite. But we tried…
Jillian Amatt
As a street artist myself, you can imagine my excitement when we editors decided to make street art our August monthly challenge. I knew that I had a TON of photos, and I looked forward to sharing some of my favorites with you, but I also knew that I would be seeing some awesome art from other locations in the world. I can see that many shared in my excitement as we received a record number of submissions this month. While July was our lowest turnout, August has been the highest.
Thank you so much to all of you who took the time to share these images. Art is used in many different ways in the world. Even in street art, we can see the different roles that it plays.
I really loved the articles where writers shared about how street art has been used to uplift or transform neighborhoods. Erika Burkhalter writes about how it has uplifted Santa Ana in Exploring California’s Cultural History Through Its Santa Ana Street Art, Martin Scherer shows us how it is transforming Berlin in The Street Art That Is Helping Berlin To Heal, and Kua Lina shares vibrant photos of Columbia Colorful Streets of Colombia Brim with the Spirit of Its People.
I really appreciate it when street art is used to spread political messages. Sometimes the messages are like soft-spoken whispers and other times they are loud and very clear. Scott-Ryan Abt accurately portrays the street art in Puerto Rico as a cry for freedom in The Defiance of Street Art in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Kenny Minker shows us what the border between the US and Mexico looks like in Street Art On the US-Mexico Border.
Street art can also be used to make sure that we don’t forget significant people of our time and what their lives meant to us while they were with us. Catherine Duchesne shows us one mural that commemorates a young life taken too soon in How street art travels the world without moving. She shares an interesting revelation with us:
Right there, right then something clicked. I suddenly understood that so often there might be an entire story behind the creation of an art piece that we know little to nothing about. Which is a shame because like I experienced firsthand with the mural in my neighboorhoud, by knowing even just a little part of this story, the art can become so much more powerful than what meets the eye.
Melissa Rach visits Minneapolis and the neighborhood where George Floyd was murdered by police. I can only imagine that the emotions would be running very high while visiting a place with such recent historical significance. I’m happy to know that his memory is being honored after his tragic and senseless murder. Learn more in Street Art in the Wake of Tragedy.
Art can also just be happy and cheerful and many images in your submissions simply made me smile. Krasi Shapkarova shares a bunch of beautiful art that I must have missed when I visited the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv. I have pictures of the street art we saw, but none are in her in-depth article: If You Love History, Culture, and Street Art, You’ll Love Plovdiv. Bulgaria is one of my favorite countries and there is lots of street art!
And Michael Rhodes gave us a bunch of fun examples of street art. I laughed out loud at many of the images:) Street Art Variety in North America
But, I must say that my favorite street art article shows us art from 3000 BC before there were even streets! I will admit that I nudged Tim to write this article after I read of his Norwegian exploits in his latest book Mature Flaneur. I was fascinated by the drawings that he encountered and knew that it would be a unique submission to the prompt. Thanks for coming through for me Tim! As usual, his writing is educational and informative:
As you can see, I had a really hard time just choosing three this month, as I usually tend to do. Plus, there are so many other amazing articles that I would love to mention here as well! I’m so thrilled that this prompt got the response that it did, and it just goes to show that art truly does change the world!
JoAnn Ryan
Street art was a blast this month! As we knew it would be. 🙂 It’s been so fun checking out interesting offerings from around the world from our many multi-talented writers.
So, what were my favorites from this month?
Loved Aaron Paulson’s many offerings of street art from travels to Toronto, Tokyo and Reykjavik. Such a wealth of amazing photos! Thank you Aaron.
Other stories I enjoyed:
- Enjoyed this wonderfully descriptive story from Erika Burkhalter about her travels in London: “Shoreditch Street Art: London with a Bit of Edge.”
- Sara Burdick offered us a combination of interesting history and personal travel experience in: “The History of La Boca, Argentina.”
- Appreciated the amazing creativity on display, and enticing description, by CosmicDancer in this story: “Discovering Hidden Treasures.”
- Kua Lina gave us colorful photos and vivid writing about Columbia street art herein: “Colorful Streets of Colombia Brim with the Spirit of Its People.”
However, I ultimately just had to choose this well-told story by Melissa Rach about street art in Minneapolis as my overall favorite. Who knew this city would become the starting point for a revolution? I suppose Prince did.
“Messages of Rest in Peace, peace changed to power. We bleed the same. Say their names. Black Lives Matter. It feels odd to be a white-identifying person in this space. It feels hypocritical. That’s my own personal identity journey though.”
Thank you everyone for all the great stories. See you next month!!
Adrienne Beaumont
My top pick is Krasi Shapkarova’s“A Bulgarian Village Like No Other”. Krasi enchanted me with her words and pictures and I spent one whole evening researching this tiny village. Krasi writes, “I’ve now visited and walked the streets of Staro Zhelezare two times, and I’m certain I still haven’t found all the street art.” I want to visit and find some more!
I loved “Discovering Hidden Treasures” by CosmicDancer who introduces her story with “The most enjoyable parts of a trip are, in my opinion, the moments when you happen upon a little something that you really like which was not in the plan.” She won me over with that introduction. And I loved her photos from the Alkatraz gallery, listed as #249 of 253 things to do in Ljubljana. I want to find this place!
Mario López-Goicoechea’s “London Street Art Seen From the Saddle of My Ridgeback” introduced me to a wonderful trompe l’oeil which I simply adored. The weathered appearance makes it even more realistic. I couldn’t take my eyes off it.
Serhii Onkov shares some wonderful street art from Kherson city, Ukraine with his “Pictures of the Lazy South”. It may be the only chance we get to experience such beautiful street art.
Aaron Paulson’s “Street Art Challenge: Toronto” was my favourite of his three submissions, although I also loved the ones from Tokyo and Reykjavik. I especially loved those garage doors. I’d love to make my garage doors more interesting with a mural.
Well, I’d better stop here. Thank you to everyone who submitted stories. I really enjoyed reading them all and was surprised how many examples of street art I’d discovered when travelling.
Michele Maize
Wow, there were so many good stories this month, it was really hard for me to pick my favorites. I even wrote two for the challenge this month and I don’t usually do that. It is incredible to know that our writers at Globetrotters seem to love street art just as much as we do.
I was unaware of all the amazing street art and exhibits in Paris before reading this interesting story from Jody Lynn McBrien. She reminds tourists to look beyond the popular attractions because you might find some amazing hidden gems. I love the mixture of graffiti and street art. It takes immense talent to create these works of art showcased in her story.
Most of us think of murals and paintings on buildings when we think of street art but it goes beyond that. Michael Rhodes showcases so many different forms of street art in his story. I love seeing sculptures and art installations while out and about.
I know I already shared Melissa Rach’s article but it was my favorite of the bunch. The street artist who came out in the wake of tragedy to promote love and healing warms my heart after something that was so heartbreaking.
A few others that I loved:
Bell Dae “Interestingly, a lot of Berlin’s street art is actually been paid for by the homeowner or the city and artists make a living doing street murals.” — She writes about a particular piece of art with a special meaning behind it and other great murals in Berlin.
Erika Burkhalter and I both live in Orange County so I love when she shares about places that I can visit. Downtown Santa Ana artists have done a great job making the area nicer. I learned a lot about the history from her piece.
Anne Bonfert
History, tango, raw and authentic street art. Everything was part of the photo essays I read through. I do admit, reading through your challenge responses I learned so much like through no other prompt.
The background information on certain murals, the history of a place or how tango was born, all of it was certainly fascinating to learn.
Thank you so much for sharing all that much on top of the pictures. But let’s get to the point. These were the stories that stood out to me starting with Kim Baker's article on street artists of Granada.
She highlights the mindset of these artists that differs from those creating a painting asking millions for it. These guys give everything but don’t even ask for recognition.
"What I find amazing in this time of materialism and the demand for monetary compensation is that these artists have given us their time, creativity and passion and have asked for nothing in return, not even recognition." — Kim Baker
The next story doesn’t just take us to an area where you shouldn’t pull out your phone as it is one of the poorest neighborhoods of Argentina but it is also the birthplace of the dance 'tango’.
Sara Burdick takes us on a stroll through the streets where you'll never be able to get and shares some fascinating street art. Her descriptive and informative narrative pulls you into the scene making you feel as if you were on site.
"Except it was considered vulgar and tasteless to the aristocracy, a poor man’s music and dance; came from the poor side of town. At one point, there was a ban on ¨tango¨ gatherings."—Sara Burdick
Joel R. Dennstedt traveled the world together with his brother who's an excellent photographer. And while Joel is the writer out here, he beautifies his travel essays with his brother’s outstanding photographs.
The kind of street art they found in Latin America is a lot more diverse than just graffiti on walls.
"Sometimes, street art can be so basic as to seem amateurish, but it can also be so amazingly appropriate to the locale that one cannot imagine its absence."—Joel R. Dennstedt
Last but not least I’d like to highlight a piece that presents a kind of street art I didn’t even think of. And to answer the question, I certainly do think living statues qualify as street art.
Jerry Dwyer shares incredible positions of street artists who act as living statues throughout Europe.
"Now traditionally these living statues are frozen in time, never moving an inch. But in Barcelona we caught some of these performers engaging with some of the tourists." — Jerry Dwyer
Once again, we thank each and every writer who has contributed to this writing prompt. The stories were all interesting and inspiring. I loved seeing all sides of street art displayed from all around the world.
If you missed the deadline and still want to share a travel story showcasing street art, you can do so. The article will just not be part of the challenge. We are always open to travel posts.
I also encourage you to stay tuned for our next writing prompt for the month of September. We will announce it here on Globetrotters on the 1st.
The team of editors also has contributed to the challenge with the following articles. These posts never join the contest.
JoAnn Ryan with “Beauty and Art at Every Step, No Matter Where You Go on This Amazing Place Called Earth”
Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages with “Street Art Can Be Found No Matter Where You Look”, “Discovering An Abundance of Street Art In China” and “Murals Tell Us About Canadian Prairie Life in Lacombe, Alberta”
Michele Maize with “2020 Brought Los Angeles Street Artists Out to Spread Love Not Hate” and “Graffiti is Cool and Creative so Let it Be”
Adrienne Beaumont with “Graffiti or Street Art?”, “I Became Interested in Street Art Through My Daughter”, “Captivating Córdoba”, “I Was Welcomed to Europe with Graffiti” and “An Accidental Find in Tallinn”
Anne Bonfert with “Street Art Found in the Desert” and “Looking for Street Art in Nuremberg”
And now, please give credit to all participating writers and read these awesome submissions if you haven’t checked them out yet:
Erie Astin with “Art on Wild Montana Streets”
Aaron Paulson with “Street Art Challenge: Toronto”, “Street Art Challenge: Tokyo” and “Reykjavik Street Art City”
Scott-Ryan Abt with “The Defiance of Street Art in San Juan, Puerto Rico”
Kim Baker with “Traveling Spain on a Budget? Granada Street Artists Want to Give You a Gift”
CosmicDancer with “Exploring the Soul of Cities through Street Art” and “Discovering Hidden Treasures”
Joel R. Dennstedt with “Street Art In Latin America”
Martin Scherer with “The Street Art That Is Helping Berlin To Heal”
Erika Burkhalter with “Shoreditch Street Art: London with a Bit of Edge” and “Exploring California’s Cultural History Through Its Santa Ana Street Art”
Sara Burdick with “The History of La Boca, Argentina”
Jerry Dwyer with “Do Living Statues Qualify as Street Art?”
Jody Lynn McBrien with “Not to Miss: Street Art in Paris”
Kenny Minker with “Street Art On the US-Mexico Border”
Mario López-Goicoechea with “London Street Art Seen From the Saddle of My Ridgeback”, Part two and Part three
Serhii Onkov with “Pictures of the Lazy South”
Bell Dae with “Visiting One of the Most Iconic Pieces Of Street Art Worldwide”
Мaria Kriskovich with “Melbourne Street Art: My Self-Guided Tour”
Krasi Shapkarova with “A Bulgarian Village Like No Other” and “If You Love History, Culture, and Street Art, You’ll Love Plovdiv”
Mystery Train with “Street Art in McLeod Ganj, India”
Michael Rhodes with “Street Art Variety in North America”
Tim Ward, Mature Flâneur with “The Wild Street Art of Dunedin, New Zealand” and “The Oldest Street Art in the World”
Julia A. Keirns with “Graffiti Art on the Streets of St.Louis”
Melissa Rach with “Street Art in the Wake of Tragedy”
Catherine Duchesne with “How street art travels the world without moving.”
Nella DiCarlo with “Small Town Street Art”
Kua Lina with “Colorful Streets of Colombia Brim with the Spirit of Its People”
Your Globetrotters editing team (JoAnn, Adrienne, Jillian, Michele & Anne)
