Street Art Collector

Fikaris is an Australian painter, illustrator, comic book creator and street artist who's spent all his professional life in the creative scene, exploring different mediums and establishing himself firmly in them all.  On the streets, Fikaris spans styles. Initially sharing poetry on the walls, he is also known for illustrative naturescapes and, of course, his iconic gas mask characters, which sho...

On this episode, we dive into the important role documentation has played, and still plays, in the world of graffiti, street art and now, NFTs.  Naturally, promotion, whether it was trying to get into magazines or working hard to build a presence online, has been an endeavour for those who want to be seen. If you want to commercialize your work, your work has to be visible, and you need to be cont...

On the podcast today, Steph sits down with Melbourne-based British urban contemporary artist Mysterious Al, who was part of London's early street art wave, tagging toilets and walls all around the city and running illegal street exhibitions with some of today's most famous street artists.  Famous since the 2000s for his street art while simultaneously successful as a professional illustrator and a...

Both black books and wallets have served as a medium for flexing collections. Black books being physical books within which graffiti writers and their peers would collect tags from others in their community to cherish and show off when in like-minded company.  Wallets today, the crypto kind, serve a similar purpose. If you've ever been on an NFT marketplace, like OpenSea, you may have noticed that...

On the podcast today, we sit down with Australian street artist, fine artist, and NFT artist Tom Gerrard, who has been at his street practice since the 90s, when he started painting the iconic heads that would be a staple in his art for decades to come.  Extending his art practice beyond the streets, Tom broke into the fine art market some years ago, bringing his unique aesthetic into galleries an...

On this episode of Graffiti x Blockchain, Leander and I discuss web3; what it is, the technology that has enabled it and what it means for funding cultural production.  Unlike web2, which we are all using today, web3 is built on the blockchain. It's totally decentralised. No Google to serve us ads in exchange for its search power, no Facebook to sell our data so we can scroll through viral conspir...

On the podcast today, Steph speaks with Morano - a Spanish artist living in Melbourne, who started in graffiti way back when he was just 12 years old, an artistic kid in Barcelona. In his creative career, Morano has been heavily involved in graffiti, street art, Illustration, and graphic design...  Like many artists during the lockdown, he also found himself in the weird, wonderful and often exhau...

On this episode of Graffiti x Blockchain, Leander and I discuss the unique feel that has been and is present in both movements as they rose up in their respective generations. For both, there has been an undeniable, palpable excitement. An enthusiasm for the rebellious style of anti-establishment cultural production that both of these factions have empowered.   Both would be impossible without the...

Vermibus has spent the last 11 years producing powerful artworks that poke at consumerism and beauty standards, taking ads in bustling pedestrian locations and swapping them out with distorted replacements, provoking passers-by to ponder more deeply the images they pass every day along their journeys.   Most recently, Vermibus has enhanced this immersion with VR, utilising new technology to bring...

On this episode of Graffiti x Blockchain, Leander and I spell out how graffiti crews are formed and organised, how DAOs are formed and organised - what these two things actually are - and how much they both have in common.  Whether you're an artist, an art collector, an organiser or an activist, there is a lot that can be appreciated about DAOs and graffiti crews in their efforts to build a cultur...

On Street Art Collector today, Stephanie O'Brien sits down with Sebastien Rouby: Co-Founder of an exciting new street art NFT platform called streetlab.io, which launched back in May 2022 with Mexican street artist Yescka as the lead artist producing the Genesis collection for the platform.  Streetlab.io is a decentralised platform that supports street artists entering the NFT scene with a suite o...

NFTs are hailed for their ability to help graffiti and street artists to preserve and share their art long after its time is done in the physical world. It's a way to monetise their practice and gain support from their fans to continue their work.  On the flip side, it's also a way to track that same work. For graffiti writers and artists doing illegal public art, this presents a dilemma. Every mi...

In the graffiti scene for some 15 years, Migwel fell in love with public art and works day and night, pursuing a career of creativity doing graphic design, digital art, murals, and most recently, NFTs.  Easily recognisable by his playful-looking artworks, Migwel's characters are pure joy, with extra layers hidden under the surface for those who care to look deeper.  As an avid digital artist, we s...

Producing graffiti since 1999 and turning to stencils, Linocut and Screen Printing in the 2000s, TONA has spent decades examining the place of art in the urban environment, how people respond and the way the piece can evolve under the eye of time. On the podcast, TONA talks about the beauty of decay, the authenticity of children, and his thoughts on the world, our future, and the opportunities he...

Producing graffiti and street art on the streets as well as in the digital realm, Diego Bergia is doing graf work you've probably never imagined existed. If you've played Tony Hawk's latest video game, you'll see Diego's graffiti all over the game. Serendipitously, he's become the guy that people go to to place graffiti into digital spaces.  On this episode, Diego talks about how natural his caree...

Falko, a.k.a. Falko1 or Falko Fantastic, is a leader in the graffiti and street art movement in South Africa, one of just five there from the beginning who has seen it develop as he has developed along with it. Teaching himself how to make digital artworks and going through all the bumps and bruises that come with exploring on his own, Falko shares stories of the highs and lows as an artist and NF...

Jesse Smith is a multi-dimensional artist who has had a fascinating artistic career, including a few stints on the reality TV series, Ink Master, where he built an international reputation for his tattooing skills and his iconic characters; creatures from a fictional continent with an epic backstory that makes every piece totally unique and enchanting.  His latest artistic evolution is stepping in...

Today Yescka is embarking on a new frontier into the online realm, launching his first NFT collection with Streetlab.io on the 15th of May 2022.    Tune in to hear his thoughts on creating art with impact, how we can all be more conscious about how we consume art and why he is expanding his skills into the digital world to benefit his physical world initiatives.    Yescka online:  www.yescka.com  ...

Travelling the world painting his monsters, KIWIE is an example of the NFT promise for street artists. Combining physical work with digital assets, he crafts NFT projects worldwide, mints them and commercialises his craft through their sale.  On the podcast, he chats about how he reached this point and the life lessons that keep him driving ahead.  KIWIE online:  https://www.instagram.com/kiwie/  ...

La Mano Fria has been involved in music and art for decades. He formed his roots in New York's graffiti scene, developed into silk screening and has enjoyed a career in the underground arts scene creating music and art that speaks to social issues, making the unknown known. In addition to his varied background and entertaining stories, La Mano Fria is a guy with a solid sense of self. He lives in...

Shiho is a marketer with global success, working with giants like Morgan Stanley, Google and Mercari, as well as startups at various stages. Now she is advising her hometown, Shibuya, on positioning them as a hub for startups in Tokyo. Understanding the tech progressive nature of the city, as well as its long history of trendsetting and developing globally recognised pop culture icons, Shiho and h...

Jodee has been at her craft for some 15 years. Playing on the streets, in the studio and soon on the blockchain, Jodee is an ever-evolving artist continually exploring new mediums, materials and concepts.  On the podcast, we discuss the ups and downs of self-employment, mental health, how she got started, the emotional content of her work, her love for collaborating with others and the epic upcomi...

A successful entrepreneur based out of Tokyo, Marty Roberts is launching the world's first NFT marketplace that exclusively works in the graffiti and street art space. Through TOTEMO, his team collaborates with, curates for, and complements the work of street and graffiti artists, helping them to earn money simply by doing what they do - sharing their art with the streets.   On the podcast, Marty...

An avid skateboarder and artist, Nick has travelled the world, slapping his young face all over the streets to encourage passers-by to tune into their younger selves and remember to have some fun. From stickers to epic wooden benches and swings, Nick enhances physical spaces and looks at how he can explore physical-turned-digital avenues as he enters the world of NFTs.    Nicky Nailed It:  https:/...