First up in our look back at 2016 we thought we would be cheeky and start with a review of what we have proactively organised and been up to about London – as we know that for 2016 we are done and there will be nothing to add in the coming week.
So where to begin really, Street Art and Blog wise it’s been an incredible year for us here at London Calling Blog one that we couldn’t of imagined this time last year we would be so proud of and enjoyed so much more than our first year running the blog continuing to share the fun with the many friends we have made along the way – artists and fellow enthusiasts alike.
We have had a few things to add to our CV that we are to be honest quite chuffed with over the last year, starting with been asked to present a guest curation for the Curious Duke Gallery’s website. We were honoured to get to write the press release for Fanakapan’s debut solo exhibition ‘Inflation’ at BSMT Space. We were also asked by an artist we very much admire to write their profile bio for their website – by far the most flattering request we have received here, and you wouldn’t believe some of the requests we do get! We were also asked by the Community Magazine SE20 in Penge where we have started our community art project SprayExhibition20 to write an article on a year of Street Art in the area. We have also had an increasing number of our images and posts stolen and redistributed across a range of outlets from social media, websites and in print by lazy parasites who can’t generate their own content, but it must mean we are doing something right because it’s happening more and more frequently.
However what sets this year apart from 2015 for the Blog are the paint jams and murals we have organised ourselves this year, with so many kind artists willing to come and paint for the Blog these people have made this year unforgettable. So that is the focus of the post below a look back at the results of the projects we have instigated and been involved with commencing with the rather impromptu Paint Jam we put together to celebrate one year of London Calling Blog in Blackall Street with some 22 artists most kindly coming to help us celebrate for ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ – this weekend was so much fun! Followed by us gaining free access for a week to paint the Shoreditch Art Wall where we had five artists paint the four panels, leaving something no advert we have seen there can match for style We also started a local community Street Art project with SprayExhibition20 in our tiny little hometown of Penge in Southeast London, which so far has seen us organize some 19 murals big and small around SE20 with more to follow in 2017. Lastly we were asked in August to put together a Paint Jam in the Croydon Arts Quarter for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Block Party were we got some 23 spots painted.
We would like to take the time to say a big thank you to all who have supported us here at London Calling Blog, it is exceptionally appreciated and we are very grateful for the support, encouragement and help from many kind people. We would like to thank New Art Rioter for all the consistent support with ‘everything’ To the many people who make our job of finding works easier, foremostly M_Frenchi & Spike_ML who help with so much from locating works to mulshing walls with us on cold early mornings and sharing the projects we have been involved with – these two help us so much with everything, thank you both. As well as to Street Art Atlas, Tanya Nash & Not Banksy Forum for taking the time to come down to Penge and share some of the work we have been doing in our local area. To Dosenkurst, Tanya Nash, Scooj & New Art Rioter for all the comments and opinions on our posts and additionally to everyone who has added comments and to all those who have shared our posts. All the photos on our blog are taken by our team here, however on rare occasions we have used photos from fellow enthusiasts and bloggers, so big thanks go to Street Art Atlas and M_Frenchi for providing us with some great photos that have enhanced a few of our posts.
Thank you to everyone involved in the project so far, business owners, residents and artists alike, SE20 wouldn’t be looking so good without all your trust, support and time. Firstly thank you to all the businesses – especially to the teams at both Nemo’s Fish & Chip Shop and Jack’s Quick Stop, whose assistance and generosity has been beyond kind – as well as to all the residents for providing us with spaces to let the artists work their magic. Secondly and equally thank you to all the artists for coming down to paint spaces big and small and brighten up the area. Thank you to Penge Street Art for all their invaluable help with the project and thank you to Community Magazine SE20 for allowing us to share the Art of Penge with in their superb publication.
We would also like to extend our thanks to Greg and Lara at BSMT Space for providing us with early access to exhibitions when we have been short of time. To those who are responsible for facilitating the bulk of Street Art in certain areas around London, namely; The Hidden Streets of London & The Real Art of Street Art for all the hard work they do, as well as letting us know when artists have been working and providing access to hidden away works. Big thanks to the team at the Shoreditch Art Wall for providing us with spaces to paint this year, as well as to the Village Underground for letting us document works from and on their premises.Lastly but no means least we would like to offer a big thank you to the Jealous Gallery for allowing us constant access to their superb ongoing Jealous Rooftop Mural Project.
Finally to the countless number of artists who have obliged our photography, questions and above all else to all those artists who have painted for us this last year and all those who have kindly given us a heads up to when they have painted so we could document the entire working process. It is for the kindness and assistance of all these people that we have managed to report on all that we have and had so much fun doing it, Thank You most sincerely from us here at London Calling Blog, lets see what we can all make happen together next year about town!
Olivier Roubieu, Zina, New Art Rioter, Artista & Morgandy at work for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Blackall Street, Shoreditch. You can view more images of this piece including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Olivier Roubieu & Zina at work.
Crey One & Jane Mutiny at work.
New Art Rioter, Spike_ML, Olivier Roubieu & Elno with the star of the weekend – Lenny!
Dedicated attendees there until the end, watching Autone at work Sunday evening.
Work by Artista & Morgandy for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by New Art Rioter for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Elno for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Zina for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Olivier Roubieu for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Giusi Tomasello for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Gary Alford for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Kapese & and Bismer One for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Pang & Float for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by 616 for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Jane Mutiny for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
‘Dessicated Dolphin’ by Frankie Strand for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Skeleton Cardboard for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Crey One for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Toas for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Work by Skeleton Cardboard for our ‘London Calling Blog Is One’ first anniversary celebrations in Shoreditch.
Works by Oliver Roubieu, Zina, Elno & New Art Rioter.
Works by Oliver Roubieu, Zina, Elno & New Art Rioter.
Works by 616, Pang/Float & Kapese/Bismer One.
Works by Bumoe, Crey One & Skeleton Cardboard and many more.
The most appropriate way to end the event and kindly created by Olivier Roubieu. Big thanks to all on the board and to Tanya Nash, Wandster, Ch4rbear and Monoprixx, sorry for forgetting you all, it was late at this point and completely our error, thanks for coming along and ‘BIG SHOUTOUT’ to you four also. You can view more images from this fantastic weekend in our post (covered here).
Artista at work.
Work by Artista starting off our SprayExhibition20 community project in style with the first of a few works we helped facilitate throughout the year for Penge. You can view more on this work in our post (covered here).
The superb set of finished works. We couldn’t be happier with the wall as a whole or with any of the composite works. You can view more images of this piece including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Work by Airborne Mark.
‘Blue Heart’ by Elno, painted for her little sister Isa.
Work by Seeds One.
Work by Artista.
‘London Calling’ by Dan Kitchener. Honoured to have the work named after the blog and to see one of Dank’s trademark ‘Liquid Lights’ scenes featuring a rainy traffic scene from London town.
Rooftop view of the finished works.
Detail of work by Seeds One, with a most generous shout out to “LDN Callin innit”.
Artista at work.
Work by Artista in the Croydon Arts Quarter. You can view more images of this piece including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Work by Autone & Itaewon that we organized in the Croydon Arts Quarter.
Olivier Roubieu at work.
Work by Olivier Roubieu that we organized in the Croydon Arts Quarter and with support from M_Frenchi. You can view more images of this piece including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Size92 at work.
Work by Size92 that we organized in the Croydon Arts Quarter. You can view more images of this piece including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Morgandy at work.
Work by Morgandy in Penge. You can view more on this work including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Aero at work.
Work by Aero in Penge. You can view more on this work in our post (covered here).
Airborne Mark at work.
Work by Airborne Mark, with the first wall we got painted in Penge. You can view more on this work in our post (covered here).
Work by Artista in Penge. You can view more on this work including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Work by Aero in Penge. You can view more on this work including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Works by Artista, Chinagirl Tile & Dope in Penge. You can view more on this work including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Work by Chinagirl Tile in Penge.
Zina at work.
‘Spiritual Spice’ by Zina in Penge. You can view more on this work including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
New Art Rioter at work.
Work by New Art Rioter in Penge.
Airborne Mark at work.
‘Aslan’ by Airborne Mark.
Works by Airborne Mark, Morgandy, Zina & Artista in Maple Road.
Nerone, Cloakwork and Ashley Gan at work.
Ink Fetish, Airborne Mark, SkyHigh & Roo at work in Croydon.
Senor X at work.
Fanakapan and Seeds One at work.
Work by Angerami for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Works by Fanakapan & Seeds One for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
‘The Creation of Adam’ by Fanakapan for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Work by Seeds One for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Works by Sterling & Onion for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by Sterling for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by Onion for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by Toas for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by Nolij for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by Olivier Roubieu for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Works by Nerone & Cloakwork for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Work by Nerone for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
‘Lucie – The Spunky Bae’ by Cloakwork for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Trio of works by New Art Rioter, Giusi Tomasello & Gary Alford for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Work by NEw Art Rioter for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Work by Giusi Tomasello for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by Gary Alford for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by Perspicere for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Works by Autone, Irony, Ink Fetish, Airborne Mark, SkyHigh, Roo, Artista & Ali Hamish for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Works by Ink Fetish, Airborne Mark, SkyHigh, Roo & Artista for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by Autone for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by Irony for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by Tom Blackford for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
‘King Folds Kong’ by Airborne Mark for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon..
Work by SkyHigh for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Work by Roo for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Work by Artista for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Work by Ali Hamish for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
‘The Void’ by Senor X for the Paint Jam we put together for the ‘We Are Croydon’ Festival in Croydon.
Works by Irony, Ink Fetish, Airborne Mark, SkyHigh, Roo, Artista & Ali Hamish. What is so impressive here for us is not just the calibre of the works across the board, but the sheer range of styles presented by the nine artists who painted these ten arches
Artista at work.
Work by Artista in Penge. You can view more on this work including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Work by Maniac in Penge.
Dan Kitchener at work.
‘Jam’ by Dan Kitchener in Penge. You can view more on this work including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Fanakapan at work.
‘Fragile Dog Syndrome’ by Fanakapan in Penge. You can view more on this work including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Works by Fanakapan and Dan Kitchener in Penge.
Artista at work.
Work by Artista in Penge. You can view more on this work including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
Hunto at work with the aid of some much needed torch light courtesy of the fantastic Street Art Atlas – Thanks!
Work by Hunto in Penge. You can view more on this work including some progress shots in our post (covered here).
London Calling Blog 
Congrats on another fine year of reporting street art in London… Time well spent indeed….
Yeah, well done. Good job in organising and documenting all this
Wow…what a year….it’s a pleasure to support the blog and be there with you guys as it grows. Looking back you’ve achieved a lot, just look at Penge now! As much as it’s about the art – standing around in the rain, wind and dreaded sunshine, I’ve made some great friends along the way….keep up the good work!