Riot in the Streets

It's a great moment to be making street art in Seattle. For as long as I've been around, Seattle has lagged FAR behind most other American cities in the creation and preservation of worthwhile graffiti and public murals. Never mind graffiti meccas like New York and San Francisco - much smaller cities like Portland and Pittsburgh have long had wonderfully well developed street art scenes that put ours to shame.

Finally, a critical mass of Seattle area artists have been stepping up their games and creating gorgeous and poignant street art on the walls, overpasses, signs and dumpsters of our metropolis. Take a ride this weekend past the SoDo free wall, the Georgetown Graffiti Wall, or the Tubs Memorial Project to see some of what's been taking place in the spraypaint fueled laboratories around the 206.

Or, pay a visit to either of two significant exhibits that are opening this Friday, both of which prominently feature local street artists. Up in Greenwood, the BHerd Gallery opens "Urban Decay," which features new work from local writers Asher, Tim Kapler, Akimbo and (ahem) Gurldogg. In Belltown, the Seattle City Hostel project opens for public viewing with new work from Parskid, PGee, Skeleton and Key, and lots more.

Graffiti is the tattoos that brings color to the skin of a city. It's about time that a city as culturally alive as ours finally has some ink worth showing.

Thanks to Slightly North for the photo of the Georgetown graffiti wall!