Street Art in Brooklyn

Early on in my internship in Manhattan, I was sent on a task that would lead to something that I couldn’t deny was life changing. I was sent on the subway with a bag to deliver in SoHo near Prince Street. After I dropped off the bag and was headed back, I walked by a street vendor and noticed his paintings. They were favorable to my aesthetic and I really liked a lot of them. After I had been stopped a few seconds, the artist came over to talk to me. He turned out to be a young guy only a few years older than me. I told him I was really interested in his work, but I would have to come back to make a purchase as I was on the job. He gave me a business card with the link to his blog, and his phone number so I could text him after work to see if he would be there still.

As I got on the subway, I accessed his blog on my phone and looked at his work. It was street art with amazing typography and collage. I sent one image to my roommate to see if she liked the painting also, which she did. I texted him to arrange the purchase after work, and headed back to Prince Street after work. When we met, we began to talk and I learned he was a street artist from Idaho who lived in Brooklyn.

It turns out, we met up for drinks one night a few weeks later. I was eager to have someone show me new parts of New York. I had no idea what I was about to experience. The second time we met up, it was to attend a pop up sneaker shop that was throwing an opening party for their promotion of a few local street artists, including the work of my new friend. The party was like nothing I had experienced, with a local DJ in the basement and walls with markers hung up open for people to graffiti or contribute art.

I have attended several art parties and gallery openings in Brooklyn and lower Manhattan since. It is such a new and different culture than anything I have experienced yet. As a designer, the work that these people do is amazing. I would have never known such talented people were doing this. My friend had his own debut at a gallery downtown. I got to watch him work on pieces for the show for months, and the final product was amazing. There were tons of people there, as well as artists. It was all an amazing experience, and has opened my eyes to new kinds of people and cultures that are in Manhattan.