Best Places To Find Street Art in NYC

NORTH AMERICA
/
USA
/
NEW YORK
/
NEW YORK CITY
/
Art
Business owners donate their wall space to The Bushwick Collective
Business owners donate their wall space to The Bushwick Collective | © Emma Backer
Photo of Emma Backer
Emma Backer
28 June 2019
View

New York’s street art might not stay the same for very long, but the artists who come to showcase their work here ensure that neighborhoods are never bare. Anything and everything is a canvas here, including alleyways, security gates and construction trailers. Be guided to the best spots as part of our curated NYC art tour, or discover them yourself with this list as your guide.

Witness community coming together at The Bushwick Collective

Art Gallery
There are around 50 murals at The Bushwick Collective
There are around 50 murals at The Bushwick Collective | © Christian Mueller / Shutterstock
Joe Ficalora, a lifelong resident of Bushwick, refers to himself as an “accidental curator.” Ficalora started commissioning the murals as a way to reclaim the neighborhood from the painful memories of his past, including his father’s murder and mother’s death from brain cancer. What began as a neighborhood party in 2011 to raise money for children with brain tumors has since turned into a multi-street project where business owners donate their wall space and artists contribute time and supplies. There are currently around 50 murals, and the number is constantly growing. Artists include Nychos, Blek le Rat, Cost, Mast, Buff Monster and many more.

Venture to the 100 Gates Project’s after-hours gallery

Art Gallery
Artists paint onto shop shutters as part of the 100 Gates Project
Artists paint onto shop shutters as part of the 100 Gates Project | © Emma Backer
The 100 Gates Project is the brainchild of NYC skateboarder Billy Rohan. The venture, which is in collaboration with the Lower East Side Business Improvement District, sees artists paired with local businesses to create designs that are painted onto shop security gates, turning the neighborhood into an open-air gallery that emerges at night. The project has now expanded outside of the Lower East Side to include East Harlem, North Shore on Staten Island and the Little Caribbean (Flatbush) area of Brooklyn.

Celebrate Keith Haring’s legacy at the bOWERY wALL mURAL

Art Gallery
Pieces by some of the world’s best street artists grace the Bowery Wall Mural
Pieces by some of the world’s best street artists grace the Bowery Wall Mural | © Emma Backer
On the corner of Houston and the Bowery is a concrete wall slab with a lot of history. In 1982, Keith Haring painted a mural here, which is considered the artist’s first large-scale public work. The site was a source of illegal graffiti and various commercial advertisements, until in 2008 when Jeffery Deitch and the wall’s owner Tony Goldman (a real-estate developer) began commissioning murals. They have since collaborated with artists including Shepard Fairey, RETNA, Kenny Scharf, AIKO, OSGEMEOS and many others.

Pay tribute to a legendary rapper at the Big Pun Mural

Art Gallery, Memorial
Since the Bronx Graffiti Wall of Fame was torn down to accommodate new residential high-rise buildings, the Big Pun Memorial Mural has become the go-to site for street art in the area. The famed TATS CRU created the sprawling mural in tribute to Big Pun, the Bronx-born and first Puerto Rican hip-hop artist to go platinum. Every year on Big Pun’s birthday in November, the wall gets an update.

Visit the Centre-fuge Public Art Project’s rotating gallery

Art Gallery
The Centre-fuge Public Art Project was set up in 2011
The Centre-fuge Public Art Project was set up in 2011 | © Emma Backer
In 2011, Lower East Side residents Jonathan Neville and Pebbles Russell sought to combat the negative impacts of construction sites by transforming a trailer that functioned as a temporary office into a rotating street gallery. The project began with artists taking it in turn to paint the trailer every two months. Years later, the Centre-fuge Public Art Project encompasses trailers around New York City and Miami. The project has beautified construction sites and transitional spaces while empowering local communities.

Seek out the Lower East Side’s Freeman Alley

Art Gallery
Freeman Alley leads to a restaurant
Freeman Alley leads to a restaurant | © Emma Backer
In the middle of the galleries, shops and trendy restaurants of the Lower East Side is an easily missed alley leading to Freemans Restaurant. Thanks to its inconspicuous location – out of view and unlikely to be whitewashed – illegal graffiti in the form of tags, stenciling, wheatpasting (affixing posters using a sticky water and wheat flour substance) and murals have proliferated. Freeman Alley has become a canvas for Hanksy, ASVP and myriad up-and-coming artists.

Take in the Graffiti Hall of Fame’s Latin American art

Art Gallery
Graffiti Hall of Fame, Harlem, Manhattan, New York City
Graffiti Hall of Fame, Harlem, Manhattan, New York City | © Vespasian / Alamy Stock Photo
Founded in 1980 by Ray Rodriguez, AKA Sting Ray, the Graffiti Hall of Fame at the Jackie Robinson Educational Complex in East Harlem was meant to give artists a safe environment to hone their skills and display their talents. These days, the site’s motto is “Strictly Kings or Better,” with professional graffiti artists from around the world vying for a precious spot on the wall. While exploring El Barrio, an area of East Harlem rich in cultural history, you will find art on every corner, from yarn-bombed flowers on chain-link fences to murals celebrating the lives of Latin music legends. Be sure to stop by El Museo del Barrio for even more insight into the neighborhood.

Check out Nick Walker’s world-renowned ‘Love Vandal’

Art Gallery
Born in Bristol, England, Nick Walker is an artist known for his part in the Stencil Graffiti movement. He established his name in the United States following an artist residency at the Quin Hotel in New York. He has since sold out shows in London and LA, where collectors waited in line for over 24 hours to be among the first to get his latest print editions. His work often features a dapper gentleman in a bowler hat known as The Vandal. In a nondescript parking lot on the corner of 17th Street and Sixth Avenue, you will find Love Vandal, his tribute to New York.

Head to the Welling Court Mural Project, Queens’ premier street-art gallery

Art Gallery
The Welling Court Mural Project features around 130 artworks
The Welling Court Mural Project features around 130 artworks | © Emma Backer
Since the destruction of 5Pointz (a renowned graffiti spot in Long Island City), the Welling Court Mural Project has become the go-to destination for street art in Queens. In 2009, Welling Court resident Jonathan Ellis connected with Ad Hoc Art to spruce up his neighborhood. There are around 130 murals painted by a mix of legendary artists and emerging talents, including Abe Lincoln Jr, Kid Lew, Praxis, SpazeCraft, Royal KingBee, TooFly and more.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel – and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Epic Trips, Mini Trips and Sailing Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travellers and friends who want to explore the world together.

Epic Trips are deeply immersive 8 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and enough down time to really relax and soak it all in. Our Mini Trips are small and mighty - they squeeze all the excitement and authenticity of our longer Epic Trips into a manageable 3-5 day window. Our Sailing Trips invite you to spend a week experiencing the best of the sea and land in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm – and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.

Cookies Policy

We and our partners use cookies to better understand your needs, improve performance and provide you with personalised content and advertisements. To allow us to provide a better and more tailored experience please click "OK"