Highlights from this year’s Street Art Festival
Cork Street in downtown Guelph was filled with many people sharing creative energy for the 2013 Street Art Festival. The event happened on Saturday Sept. 28 and featured over 20 graffiti and spray paint artists displaying their work, as well as creating new works for observers on large canvasses set up along the streets, and on the cement itself. Many styles and techniques were demonstrated, including drawing, painting, spray paint and stencils.
Elizabeth Gosse-Steinberg brought her “It’s Your City” project to Guelph. She says that by getting festivalgoers to paint on wooden blocks, which were then put together to create a cityscape, she was trying to “get people involved in the creativity, and allow them to see the positive aspects of their community.” A large piece, done by the duo named “Gruesome Twosome,” consisted of two cartoon-like heads facing opposite directions on the end, with brains and bits of skull smashing out towards the centre. As bizarre as this sounds, their style made it work, and achieved what they claimed to be going for: “making something both beautiful and scary.” The festival was an ideal place for all artists to show their varying and unique styles.
The Guelph School of Arts set up another community-based exhibit. It was a wonderfully simple set up: brushes and paint set up in front of a large white canvas for anyone who wanted to leave their mark. People of all age groups enjoyed adding their names, quotes, or pictures to it, and were able to watch it continue to develop into the afternoon.
Since music and visual art are always so closely linked, the afternoon would not have been the success it weren’t for the live music accompanying it. Old-school covers, hip-hop, and spoken word were all part of the high-energy musical selection. The artists watched the performances while they were painting, and the performers congratulated the artists on their work, which all contributed to a very open atmosphere with everyone free to express themselves creatively and be celebrated for it.
It was great to see people of all age groups and demographics come together and collectively enjoy the art. There were many parents looking at the art with their children, participating in the activities together. The fact that the public was able to view how the artist created their work made it all the more special, and contributed to the idea that art is accessible and inclusive. It was a very inspiring and exciting event that thoroughly supported and encouraged artistic expression in Guelph.