Graffiti at The Royal West of England Academy

Traditionalists might claim that graffiti is vandalism rather than art, but this month Bristol's celebrated street artists will invade the city's grandest gallery for a six-week exhibition.

The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) will play host to Crimes of Passion – an exhibition that will see some of the city's street artists painting on the walls of its 150 year-old building.

With work by artists such as Bristol-born Banksy selling for hundreds of thousands of pounds, the development of street art is now an internationally recognised phenomenon.

The RWA exhibition will be the first show of new work by the city's most successful street artists since the Arnolfini's show in 1985.

Felix Braun, one of the exhibition's curators, said: "Crimes of Passion shows the quality of talent in Bristol. In terms of street art there is a flourishing scene.
"There are a lot of very successful artists living and working the city, many of whom are internationally acclaimed – perhaps not on these shores but certainly abroad and as far away as Los Angeles and Tokyo.

The exhibition will feature work by around 45 of Bristol's best-known street artists.
Some will use canvas and installations as well but other will paint as directly on to the walls.

Mr Braun added: "By painting directly onto the walls you have the impact that comes from street art. Imagine walking around a corner and seeing a piece of art which seems to have appeared overnight and brightens up a grey space. In this case, we'll achieve that same impact but instead we're brightening up a white space.
"People who don't recognise graffiti as art or classify it all as vandalism need to grow up and move into the 21st century.

"The term graffiti can range from scratching your name into a bus shelter to a piece of work done by 20 different artists working together to produce a beautiful, vibrant piece of art. It's all about terms of reference."

The exhibition, which includes a programme of talks and educational activities, aims to show how graffiti can regenerate communities and be entertaining

Graffiti was brought directly to Bristol from America by artists and musicians who travelled there from New York City in the early 1980s. Graffiti artists active on the Bristol scene at that time included Banksy, Nick Walker, Inkie and Robert del Naja, or 3D, of Massive Attack.

Weapon of Choice - Mr Jago vs Inkie

As you may or may not know we are sponsoring the whole series of Weapon of Choice live painting sessions in Bristol, check out these images from the Feb installment Mr Jago and Inkie. In march it will be Cheo and Lokey at Mr Wolfs, Bristol first Tuesday of the month

BANKSY'S Bristol, Home Sweet Home

This book is a celebration of Banksy’s Bristol street art that puts him in the context of 3D, John Nation from the Barton Hill Settlement, Inkie, Nick Walker and the other artists and musicians who were instrumental in linking Bristol to the original New York hip hop scene.

It is the most revealing account written so far of Banksy’s formative years and contains more than 100 images of his Bristol art and pictures of Banksy at work which have never been published before.

Steve Wright traces Banksy’s roots back to the rave culture of the Nineties and draws a rounded picture of an artist who is most famous for being anonymous.

out december 07, pre orders from tangentbooks.com from november!