Our weekly focus on the moving image and art in the streets. And other oddities.

Now screening :

1. Urban Forms 2014 in Łódź, Poland
2. Memorie Urbane 2014
3. Alice Pasquini: New Journey
4. Detroit with Sheryo, Yok, Daek, Fecks
5. Chris Dyer in Denver and Boulder, Colorado

BSA Special Feature: Urban Forms 2014 Łódź, Poland

Poland’s mural art scene has blown up in recent years thanks largely to the efforts of Urban Forms in Lodz, who have successfully completed 10s of them across the city. More importantly, the success of the program is striking a fine balance between the permission granted from the community and the desire to secure high caliber artists to come and paint. The newest video recap of the 2014 program illustrates that the impression of the viewer on the street is a large part of the calculus, and the resulting conversations and engagement, when it comes to this new public/private/permissioned/commissioned muralism, are as important as getting a huge wall to go big on.

Memorie Urbane 2014

Equally successful for the mural movement that has evolved from Street Art is Memorie Urbane in Italy and organizers have taken pains to be cognizant of placement in context. The results have been meaningful and have impact because the historical and the modern are part of one conversation in this city not far from Rome. By sponsoring conferences and bringing in a great sense of public arts place the life of a city and a culture, these works become one of the same cloth that the city is made from– while still retaining the voice of the artists.

Alice Pasquini: New Journey

Painter and storyteller Alice Pasquini has as much energy and grit as any prolific Street Artist at the moment, and her style is immediately recognizable. What you may not have known is that her stories are initiated by a need to speak with a town or a neighbor about personal, social and political issues that affect them – as well as to facilitate her own journey. In this respect we continue to see a growing similarity between the muralists of today and the community muralists of the last century – without the heavy handed quality of design-by-committee that often mars a good mural.

Detroit with Sheryo, Yok, Daek, Fecks

The wonderous wreckage of industrialism, corruption and global trade agreements that has left Detroit a disaster area has spawned an era of artists rushing to the crash site to see what sort of sculpture can be made. Largely white, apolitical and unquestioning, the communities of creators that are forming and coalescing will eventually be commodified by brands, no doubt, and already commercial deals are being signed. In the mean time, there is still plenty of unsanctioned fun to be had and Sheryo and Yok give you a sense of what it feels like to run free in Detroit.

Chris Dyer in Denver and Boulder, Colorado

Hmmm, wonder what kind of graffiti/street art scene takes root in a large affluent city where the state has legalized marijuana? Can you say “visionary”? Chris Dyer recently tripped through some of the galleries, studios, and skate ramps of Denver and Boulder with a camera behind him, showing his aerosol skills and capturing the observations and aspirations of a quickly evolving community of folks whose social/political/party mission is integrated with their artistic world vision.