Berlin’s Graffiti Street Art: How it all began?

Berlin is one of the most historical, moving cities ever known and is also referred to as ‘the mecca of the urban art world’. From every subway station, downtown alley and the occasional building site, there is some unique form of inspirational masterpieces left in the public’s eye. All over Germany, street art is seen more than just a brush stroke or a piece of stencil markings, it’s now a apart of their cultural society that’s highly embraced by many locals and upcoming artists, expressing their true beliefs, common interests and social past events. UNESCO, a specialized agency of the United Nations named Berlin as a ‘City of Design’. A few people doubted that the thriving street art scene was partly responsible. Local businesses and even local authorities hired artists to paint murals on the fronts of their buildings.

 But what started this generation of art work?

Looking back at the early 60’s when the Berlin wall was first built, it was located right in the heart of Berlin and created the division between West Berlin and East Germany from 1961 to 1989 and the symbolic boundary between democracy and Communism during the Cold War. The wall stretched for miles, on the top filled with barb wires and painted only in the basic colours of white and grey. However, some looked at this negative segment as a golden opportunity that led to a monument of vast inspiration. People on the Western side of the Berlin wall, known as ‘West Berliners’ had looked at this wall merely as a large, blank canvas needed to be painted. 

 What affect does it have on Germany today?

Since the downfall of the Berlin wall in 1989, Artists made a pact with East Germans and took to the streets of Mitte, Friedrichshain, Prenzlauer Berg where a whole a new level of creativity was born. Drawings of cartoon characters jumping with joy, other type of artwork bright and colourful collages of children and famous landmarks from other countries symbolising freedom. Even now, the Berlin wall has a major impact of the people today. It’s known to be one of the most famous tourist attractions in the world, with the Streets now flooded with graffiti and stencil art, it’s probably one of Germany’s most infectious hobbies. For decades, the Graffiti Art in Alexander Platz, Bernauer Straße and other well-known towns are extremely popular with the tourists and described as ‘never before seen in cities’ by the amount of art awaiting around each corners.

If you're interested in Graffiti Art, here's some artist from Berlin you might want to look at!

Click here to view art work from Artist 'XOOOOX'

Click here to view art work from artist 'Mein Lieber'.