THE CHEATS MOVEMENT BOOK OF STREET ARTIST TAGS! [PART I]
RVA Mini Mag Street Heat is here! You can get it at West Coast Kix and all over Richmond. Go out and get that free mini mag asap. It will go fast and it is a collectors item. Yes, I said collectors item. It documents the transformational Style Wars Summer happening in this city. It’s a dope mag – more on that tomorrow. Today, I have a special treat for RVA Street Art fans. Inspired by the kids I saw at the G40 Art Summit and RVA Street Arts Festival with their own tag books. I decided to buy my own book and get it tagged up. Here are some of the photos in my personal Street Art Festival – The Cheats Movement Book of Tags.
Dalek (RVA)
WHY I LOVE RVA TODAY: RICHMOND MURAL PROJECT BY ART WHINO
This video is amazing! S/O to Art Whino and RVA Mag for really changing this city! Amazing work!
EVERYONE WINS! G40 ART SUMMIT VS. RVA STREET ART FESTIVAL (Part I)
It is only May 3rd and 2012 has already been one of the best years ever for music, art, and culture in RVA. In my opinion, the main reason has been the: G40 Art Summit and the RVA Street Art Festival. Though both events were organized independently – combined they have already transformed Richmond into a major destination for street art in 2012.
I covered both events intensively on The Cheats Movement Blog and was granted amazing access by the organizers of the festivals: Tony Harris and Shane Pomajambo (G40) and Ed Trask and Jon Baliles (RVA Street Art Festival). I am so proud of these men for what they have done for this city. EVERYONE WINS because of these two great events.
RVA Faces of Change: Tony Harris and Ed Trask.
With that said, I believe I’m in a unique position to write some of my thoughts about both festivals. I would love to hear your opinions as well. The first two areas that I will write about in these review post are: Star Power and Location. I plan to write more on different categories as well – in due time.
STAR POWER: No doubt, G40 brought the international star power. ROA is basically the Lil Wayne of Street Art. He is at the top of the game and considered one of the best street artist in the world. You can’t talk murals right now without talking ROA. Aryz is also right there as well – he is a international power house. Both ROA and Aryz completed two walls for G40 before heading out of the country. In addition, the legendary photographer Martha Cooper was in town to check out the G40 murals. Cooper is a legend and gave G40 event more credibility. Angry Woebots, Jaz, Lelo, 2501, Pixel Pancho…and more were all in RVA for G40. There is no way around it, Art Whino and RVA Mag brought major international star power to RVA – it was a great look for the city!
Photo by Martha Cooper (posted at 12OzProphet.com)
The RVA Street Art Festival brought some MAJOR – MAJOR players as well: POSE is the man – and has earned an amazing reputation in the art world. HENSE, VIZIE, Mark Jenkins and of course, Ed Trask himself are stars in the art community as well. I was very excited to meet Dalek - he was mad cool – but I was slightly disappointed that he wasn’t in town long enough to really get down on the festival wall. The absolute best part of the RVA Street Art Festival was seeing the merging of RVA artist with the national group: Art 180, Hamilton Glass, Chris Milk Hulburt, El Kamino, Mike Broth, Heide Trepanier, and all of the local volunteers gave the Fest a real community feel.
Amazing group photo from the last day of the RVA Street Art Festival. Ed’s arms up in victory – like Ali, he shook up the world!
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.
Here is the thing – it all depends on what you prefer. G40 is throughout the entire city…let’s be real – Pixel’s amazing mural on 12th and Hull is not close to his first mural on 1 Grace BUT with G40 you can plan 2 or 3 hours, get a map, grab a camera, grab some friends, and have a great time visiting all the murals in the city. Trust me – I’ve done it and it’s a rad day. Being spread out doesn’t really solidify an “Art District” but traveling to visit the murals is a fun experience. G40 will take you from the Fan, to VCU, to Shockoe Bottom…etc.
The G40 murals are not close together…but a fun trip!
On the other hand, the RVA Street Art Festival is pretty much all in one spot: The Power Plant – Flood Wall (right by BlackFinn). The visual is stunning, VIZIE’s piece right beside POSE – Jeff Soto’s piece is right beside HAM? – it’s awesome. You can walk the area in about 5 minutes if you want. It’s a fairly small piece of real estate all things considered. What made it work so well is that it allowed for spectators (like me) to post up and watch all of the work being done in one place. I’ve never seen anything like it before in RVA. Along with the food, beer, and music, it was a real festival vibe.
Having the Festival close together allowed for huge crowds and a real festival feel. (photo courtesy of Jeff Soto’s Blog)
Honestly, I really don’t have preference – location is key but there are positives in both festivals. What do you think?
I am very interested to learn how we can keep great events like G40 and the Street Arts Festival in RVA. Are there suggestion that would make these events even better? You tell me.
This concludes part 1 of Everyone Wins.
EXCLUSIVE: ART WHINO G40 RAP BATTLE
True hip hop was on deck Saturday night at the Art Whino Gallery (115 West Broad Street). Everyone that knows hip hop knows that the rap battle is a core element of being an emcee. Man v. Man – my skills are better than your skills – off the top – no written rhymes - THAT IS WHAT SEPARATES THE REAL. The G40 rap battle was a fun time had by all – Flex Matthews (D.C.) did his thing as the host. DJ MadOne held down the beats. And a combination of emcees (mostly from D.C. and RVA) represented well. Eito, the traveling man (based in NOVA), edged out RVA’s own James Dangle in the finals to claim the battle crown. Just Plain Sounds represented well with Dangle making it to the finals and Damaged Andy battling hard against the eventual champ Eito. Others emcees representing: Chungo Rock, Profit, Tesla, and Spike Mouth aka Ray aka he saved the battle. The photos really show the love in the room. The event was small but well done – all love for G40 and the emcees on this one. S/O Mr. Harden — I see you homie on the coin flip.
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CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE PHOTO FROM THE G40 RAP BATTLE!
LIVING HISTORY PHOTO: CHEATS MOVEMENT X RVA MAG X ART WHINO X G40 TOAST
Not even going to front – I basically lost my S*$T on this one. Oh those shy global art legends. In this toast: Cheats, Shane (Art Whino), Tony (RVA Mag), and of course covered ROA, Pixel Pancho, Jaz, Lelo, and Aryz. All here for the amazing G40! (Photo by my dude BCMusic1st on the quick help out). #WESEEIT
G40 PHOTO UPDATE: ARYZ, PIXEL PANCHO, ROA
I’m all over RVA covering the G40 Art Summit. The city of Richmond is turning into a major art gallery. We are so proud of our friends at RVA Mag for bringing this event to RVA. Pixel Pancho, Aryz, Jaz, Lelo and ROA are world known global muralist and they are here in RVA – check out the latest updates.
G40 MURAL #2: PIXEL PANCHO [KISS FROM THE SPACE] ON W. GRACE
Check out the final photos of Pixel Pancho’s first mural titled, “Kiss From The Space,” as a part of the G40 Art Summit. This mural is on 7th W. Grace Street. I’ve heard that Pixel is doing at least 1 maybe 2 more murals.
MURAL ARTIST PIXEL PANCHO IN RVA FOR G40!
If the arrival of Gaia to kick things off didn’t get you interested in the G40 Art Summit, I’m not sure what will. But here is another attempt. The amazing Pixel Pancho is killing his robots on Grace Street this weekend as a part of G40. The Italian artist does all types of work but told me yesterday that murals are where his heart is…check it out. Again, S/O to RVAMag and Art Whino for bringing this project to RVA.
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GAIA! RVA MURAL COMPLETE!
What an amazing project! G40 is underway – again RVA Mag is driving this ship and you gotta give credit where it is due. Here are some of the final photos I took of Gaia. The mural is located at 11 West Grace Street. He is on his way down south, ATL, NOLA, and Memphis, before heading back to B-more. It was a great experience being able to photo this project. Like the Cheats Movement on FB for more…
2012 G40 ART SUMMIT IS HERE IN RVA! GAIA IS HERE IN RVA!
Art Whino’s third edition of G40 is kicking off right now in RVA. Renowned international artist, Gaia, is here on W. Grace killing one of his signature murals. My brothers at RVAMag is the driving force behind the G40 project coming to RVA. CLICK HERE to see the G40 website. This year’s focus is, “The Art of the Mural.” Some of the most known mural artist from around the world will be in town: El Mac, Roa, and Aryz to name a few. I’ve also been told that some local Richmonder’s will be doing their thing as well and I am very excited to see that. Check out everything about this amazing art project at RVAMag and Art Whino’s websites. Like Gaia on Facebook – he is mad cool.
The Cheats Movement
