The world of art remains unresponsive to London’s expansive graffiti scene, say artists

London has a vibrant graffiti culture and with spaces like the Leake street arches in Waterloo offering an alternative to the often illegal counterpart, the future of street art in London seems bright. 

But according to graffiti writers in the capital, London’s art scene remains unresponsive. 

And the only solo artist exhibition in the UK to date is Banksy in Bristol.

Graffiti has grown into a huge commercial enterprise, with many supporters across the capital, but institutions still seem set on traditional art mediums. 

Remi Rough is a graffiti artist from Dulwich. He is part of the Ikoniklast movement, started by Juice-126 in 1989, which opened the first outdoor paint space in Europe. 

Rough feels spaces like Leake street are incredibly important for experimentation and for street art to be taken seriously.

He said: “Attitudes have completely changed since around 2009, when I was asked to talk at the Tate as part of the street art exhibition they had.

“But sadly that momentum hasn’t continued.”

Artists point to the significant cultural impact that guerrilla art has had, being the only art form created and taken forward by children.

For Moshpit, a young graffiti artist from north London, it’s about creative output, not crime.

He feels as though some struggle to see tagging for what it is.

Moshpit said: “I think it’s hard for some people to understand when they look at art and then look at graffiti.” 

Featured image credit: Joshua Brown