The Surface Gallery's annual Block party at Sneinton market is always a hit with the locals of Nottingham, great music, fantastic healthy food and unique urban market stalls. It’s a great opportunity to kick back and enjoy the city vibes, watch some skateboarding, hang out and of course check out some live street art.
For the last few years many of the unused areas of Sneinton market have enjoyed a fresh lick of paint courtesy of some of the local artists who attend this event. With great help from the guys at Surface Gallery and Sneinton market the collective involved this year has had more opportunities than ever before to unleash their skills on such a public canvas.
With the knowledge that the artwork could be temporary due to impending renovation of the area it would've been understandable if some were unwilling to take part in the event. Instead, over 30 local dedicated graffiti and aerosol artists, street artists, stencil artists and illustrators grabbed the opportunity for what may be the last chance to decorate some of these surfaces.
“I don't care how long it's there. One day, one week, one month, as long as while it's there the people, they love it. We just gonna create something beautiful. That's the plan!” explained artist Mario.
So for many it was an early start to last Saturday morning, with almost all the artists well underway transforming the urban canvas in front of them hours before the official 11 o'clock event kick off. Throughout the day and into the evening individuals and groups worked tirelessly to create their masterpieces. Derelict spaces and buildings were crafted into enormous fun, colourful collaborations, disused shop fronts became detailed street canvasses, while broken doorways and neglected shutters developed into urban adverts and creative comic strips. All for free.
The artists brought a real energy and excitement to the event on the day and left the city, its residents and visitors with a variety of fantastic street art. A huge THANK YOU goes out to each individual who participated in the event, for sharing their talents and skills, dedicating time, effort and money to make it all happen and for creating such wonderful pieces of work for us all to experience and enjoy. Even if it is only short term.
So make sure you check out the Surface Gallery street art exhibition running until 1st September and take a stroll down to Sneinton market to catch the amazing and inspirational artwork while you can!
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