Items

• 
  2020-06

  Pandemic Protests

  These images from June 2020 were captured during Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests in New York City following the killing of George Floyd. The first image shows City Hall the morning after BLM protests. In this image of a landmark building covered in spray painted cries for change, graffiti depicts the frustrations over the cruel injustices institutions place on people of color. The second image depicts one of many protests during summer in quarantine when New Yorkers came together on avenues, bridges, and squares. Citizens marched and chanted as police followed alongside to ensure protests remained peaceful. These images capture uniquely complex dynamics when people were forced to pursue creative avenues, reinventing social justice movements to come. My time in quarantine was not solely spent on COVID related activities, I also educated myself on how and why many US institutions remain racist, discovering ways that structural change can address unjust attitudes. I read articles written by advocates for the BLM movement and also by conservatives opposing it. In exposing myself to differing mindsets, I was better prepared to engage in conversations with others opposed to change in the hope of educating them on the pressing need for progress. Furthermore, my high school friends and I frequently Zoomed to discuss how our alma mater contributes to racism in both subtle and overt ways. These conversations allowed us to work with fellow alumni, as well as current students, to create a document clearly listing racial inequities within the student body, the faculty, and the curriculum. For each issue that we highlighted, we provided multiple alternatives for how the school could fix the matter in question. While these conversations were unexpected before the BLM protests occurred, they became productive and fulfilling conversations that in and of themselves began to address long held biases, racist representations and undercurrents of injustice within our alma mater’s community and programs.
• 
  2021

  Reality

  Posted in a Banksy fan page on Facebook. Not a Banksy but artist unknown at this point. The OP titled their post "Reality".
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  2020-06-19

  Pandemic Street Art: collab by Menace and Resa

  These are screenshots of the Instagram account that represents collaborative artwork by muralists Menace and Resa. The "UNITY" mural is in South Central Los Angeles, California and was done "in response to pandemic fueled anti-Asian hate crimes." The "More Justice, More Peace" mural is in Brooklyn, New York and memorializes Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. in celebration of Juneteenth.
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  2021-04-11

  Pandemic Street Art: teenage tagger made to apologize and cleanup

  New York teen tags the streets in "response to multiple stressors. Quarantining boredom. Family problems. Feeling stuck since graduating high school and not yet finding a job or college that fit."
• 
  2021

  Pandemic Street Art: "COVID-19 graffiti" by Stefano Bloch

  Stefano Bloch is an Assistant Professor in the School of Geography, Development & Environment at the University of Arizona, Tucson.
• 
  2021-01-14

  Venezuela's Pandemic Street Art

  A Caracas, Venezuela artist is using his graffiti skills to cheer people up during COVID-19. Wolfgang Salazar has gained popularity for his spray-painted murals of Venezuelan heroes and regular people.
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  2020-06-08

  Pandemic Street Art: Interview with Ben Eine for GraffitiStreet.com

  Interview with London street artist Ben Eine and his experiences during the pandemic.
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  2020-03-06

  Pandemic Street Art: skubzmope says DON'T PANIC

  Graffiti of a toilet paper roll and the text, "DON'T PANIC"... People were panic buying items like toilet paper when the pandemic really started to take off in infection and death rates and quarantine/lockdowns were initiated in the spring of 2020.
• 
  2021-03-29

  Justice for Sofia Ramirez

  Photographer Malcolm Dole has been documenting street art during the pandemic.
• 
  2021-03-21

  Seattle Graffiti

  #seattlegraffiti #seattlestreetart #pandemicstreetart #pandemicart #grafitti #graffitiart #pandemicstreetartofseattle #graffitiporn
• 
  2021-03-20

  Stop the Covid Virus

  A friend sent this to me. She saw it on her morning walk and decided to take a photo of it.
• 
  2020-10-09

  Quote from the Streets

  STRAAT is opening its doors on October 9! My work is on show in the new museum for street art and graffiti during the opening exhibition ‘Quote from the streets’. STRAAT is the museum for street art & graffiti. Here you will find artworks - canvasses as big as a building - and their stories that stay untold in the streets. Made by legendary icons and up-and-coming artists from all over the world. STRAAT strives to become the world’s most important center for an art form that was born on the streets of the city. STRAAT makes street art shine for everyone to see in a space that seems to be there just for that. You can visit the website for more information: www.straatmuseum.com. #STRAAT #fake #fakestencils #supernurse #straatmuseum @straatmuseum #stencilart #streetartmuseum
• 
  2021-03-21

  Grim Reaper Street Art

  Ready for the next wave! #wearamask #protect #washyourhands #getvaccinated #covidart #covid_19 #cryptoart #covidartmuseum #streetart #stencil #stencilart #urbanart #graffitiart #banksy #grimreaper
• 
  2021-01-28

  Sacramento Unites for Social Justice During a Pandemic

  After the murder of George Floyd people hit the streets demanding justice for him and many others who have died at the hands of public officers. After many days of protests, riots and military intervention, the Sacramento community proves to be a strong band of citizens, business owners and political leaders who have each other's back.
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  2021-03-09

  Lady Pink's solo show at the Museum of Graffiti

  This story talks about famous graffiti artist, Lady Pink, and her upcoming solo show at the Museum of Graffiti in Miami, Florida. Lady Pink mentions getting the vaccine as part of travel plans and virtually attending her show opening, and the transition of graffiti art to gallery space and the corresponding taboo.
• 
  2020-04-04

  Mural by Navajo graffiti artist, Ivan Lee

  This photo is included as part of an article about the Navajo Nation's fight against COVID-19.
• 
  2021-02-22

  Call for submissions: Street Art

  Art unleashes, intensifies, and celebrates precisely the creative and destructive impact of vibratory force on bodies, on collectives, on the earth itself: it protects and enhances life that is and announces life to come. -- Elizabeth Grosz, Chaos, Territory, Art: Deleuze and the Framing of the Earth. This call for submissions seeks to highlight street art in the Journal of the Plague Year (JOTPY), a Crowdsourced digital archive where anyone can add their experiences and responses to the global pandemic for future generations to witness. Oftentimes, street art is temporary in nature and may be removed, obscured, or destroyed. Help JOTPY recognize the diversity of street artists and their expressions of the pandemic experience. Street art often reflects individuality, community sentiment, class differences, politics, emotion, and humor. Your contributions to the archive – such as news articles, blog posts, videos, photos, and social media posts of murals, graffiti, paste-ups, stencils, and stickers – will provide future generations access to a fleeting moment of art in and on public spaces and places during the pandemic. When submitting a street art item to JOTPY, please include a title for your submission, a description and location of the street art, your name (names can be kept private/anonymous), and #pandemicstreetart. Text stories, image(s), video(s), audio, and PDF files are all accepted file types. If the street art speaks to your experience(s) of the pandemic, please share your thoughts! If you would like to contribute, please share your story/pic/video here and reach out to Monica Ruth at meruth1@asu.edu if you have any questions.
• 
  2020-05-28

  Street Art - political critique and social engagement

  This article, written by Jana Fedtke for PopMatters, describes instances of worldwide street art as political critique and social engagement during the pandemic. Examples of street art shown include stencil work. The author explores the ways in which street art relay information about how government agencies have handled spreading information and health care and in turn, how street artists depict social engagement with pandemic procedures.
• 
  2020-03-24

  Worldwide pandemic street art

  USA Today, like many other media outlets, uses their platform to share images of street art that conveys community messages about COVID-19. Photographs range from March 2020 to January 2021 and include graffiti tagging, murals, paste-ups, and stencils. Many styles of art are represented and can be telling of how artists represent emotions of fear, solidarity, hope, thanks, and humor during the pandemic. Several of the contributions are put on boards covering windows of businesses that shut down during the pandemic, others are on hospital buildings, streets, and businesses.
• 
  2020-11-04

  Electric Avenue

  The expected second wave hits and now some countries must lockdown once again.
• 
  2020-07-05

  The Life-Giving Locale

  This is the Moonee Ponds Drain. Concrete behemouth. Primary function: transport storm water to the Bay via the Maribyrnong River. Secondary functions (that came to light under lockdown): bike path, rollerblading circuit, mushroom foraging field, freeway viewing platform, late night extension of the lounge room during household parties, study break spot, skate park, graffiti canvas, shortcut to nearby suburbs, and shopping cart disposal pit. This place truly brings the community together. HIST 30060
• 
  2020-09-06

  Karmic Retribution

  On September 6, 2020, I drove down to Boulder, Colorado to spend the day with a close friend of mine. Wildfires had been raging across the state of Colorado for a few weeks and this day, the reality of the natural disasters was especially apparent. The entire Front Range was shrouded in grey fog of smoke. A bright red sun loomed overhead as ash gently pirouetted down from the sky. The air was thick with the stench of burning forests. And it was hot. It was like something out of a movie. Apocalyptic. Ominous. Foretelling some impending doom. My friend and I started our day with a walk down by the Boulder Creek. It was unusually crowded that day and a majority of the park-goers were not wearing facial coverings. Masks were (and still are) mandatory in busy public places and my friend and I were definitely shocked to see a lack of responsibility among what we thought was a community of informed progressives. We chose to wear our masks, not necessarily because of COVID etiquette, but more so because we were worried about breathing in all the smoke and ash in the air. You could smell the smoke. You could see the smoke. And it was clear to us that we also ran the risk of breathing it in. We never checked the air quality index to verify if the air quality was indeed poor, but we didn’t have to. We both had itchy eyes and scratchy throats and that was evidence enough to wear our masks if we were going to be outside. We made our way around the area, trying to find a place to sit and relax. We passed through a tunnel that ran underneath the road. Spray painted on its walls, in red paint, was “Chief Niwot’s Curse” and “Stolen Landz.” My friend and I both took pictures of the graffiti because it “spoke” to us in a way that art or a well-timed coincidence often does. Our country was birthed in blood and forged in violence. This got us thinking about how the United States might quite literally be “cursed,” so long as Americans collectively refuse to acknowledge that fact that we stole the land from Native Americans. My friend and I found a picnic table and immediately pulled out a Tarot deck to do a reading. Whether or not divination is an accurate reflection of reality, does not matter. The subjective interpretation of a story, (and the symbols therein,) is subjectively real. It’s also fun. And sometimes, it’s scarily accurate. My friend and I brainstormed a theme for our reading and concluded on “the story of 2020.” We shuffled the deck a few times. And then drew. The first two cards we drew at random were Temperance and the Tower, both of which are Major Arcana cards. We interpret the Major Arcana cards as the narrative archetypes, or overarching themes, for our reading. So, in this reading, the overarching themes for 2020 were Temperance and the Tower. According to Golden Art Nouveau Tarot’s explanation, the Temperance card displays “An angel performing a mystical rite to restore spiritual harmony, pouring water from one cup to another.” The Tower card depicts, “A blast from the heavens” that “destroys a tower that seemed unconquerable, its magnificent crown-like dome tumbling to the ground. Two people fall helplessly from the heights. The tower was built with such a forbidding design that it imprisoned them in their own creation, with no easy exit.” Golden Art Nouveau Tarot continues, “Seek liberation on your own, or the universe may give it to you in unexpected ways.” My friend and I saw these cards and immediately locked eyes, sharing a mutual astonishment. Amidst the tumult of 2020 – a global pandemic that changed the way humans socially-interact and go about their daily lives, an urgent call for civil rights, widespread systemic frustration, climate change fueling natural disasters, ideological warfare fueled by misinformation and social media addiction – the themes of destruction and spiritual renewal seemed to bear an eerie resemblance to everything going on in the world. We then drew the King of Cups. The King of Cups “is a steady presence in a turbulent sea.” He is kind, peaceful, keeps his emotions in check, and offers comforting strength in times of trouble. As a king, he is who the people look to for guidance. My friend and I interpreted this as the need to practice detached compassion in order to navigate the waters of 2020. With an upcoming election, the United States is more divided than ever. That division could easily lead people to “drown” in their emotions and “wash away” their civility. The rest of the cards we drew were wands, representing the element of fire. Spiritually, fire is connected with creative energy, action, willpower and ambition. As our home literally “burned” before our eyes, my friend and I thought about the desire for change that seemed to be “fueling” transformation. After our Tarot reading, my friend and I drove up into the mountains. We noticed some Tibetan prayer flags flapping in the wind and pulled over to take a closer look. At a higher elevation, it was even easier to see the smoke settling down below in Boulder Canyon, enveloping the land in this impenetrable haze. We were on top of the world and had a “clear” view of everything. *Photographs taken in Boulder, Colorado boulder, colorado, wildfire, global warming, climate change, destruction, stolen land, chief niwots curse, karma, karmic retribution, cause and effect, tarot, spirituality, intuition, perception, logic, past, present, future
• 
  2020-04-18

  A Tutti Voi...Grazie

  this is a photograph of a mural on a hospital wall in Brescia, Italy where it translates to “To you all….Thanks.” It is another piece of art that reminds us that we are all in this together and to thank our healthcare workers. I think as time goes on we tend to get sick of hearing about the pandemic and Covid-19 and go about our daily lives. We as a society often times need reminders and I think art provides that in an appealing and beautiful way. A giant graffiti depicting medical staff holding a figure shaped as a boot representing Italy and reading " To you all… Thanks", is painted on a side of the Brescia hospital, Italy, Monday, March 16, 2020.
• 
  2020-05-18

  Super Nurse

  This wall mural is an ode to nurses. These are the heroes of the pandemic and there are many wall murals praising all the healthcare workers. It is a reminder that we need to keep thinking about the people who put their lives on the line everyday.
• 
  2020-05-05

  Coronaland: 617 Chartres

  617 Chartres, Miles Davis image
• 
  2020-05-05

  Coronaland: 617 Chartres

  617 Chartres, Louis Armstrong image
• 
  2020-05-05

  Coronaland: Royal and St. Ann

  Royal and St. Ann
• 
  2020-05-03

  Coronaland: "Medical Workers Thank You LOVE"

  3401 St. Charles, "Medical Workers Thank You LOVE" was written (graffitied?) on the old K&B/Rite Aid building. Alas, about two weeks later, it was painted over.
• 
  2020-06-14

  Message of Hope Left on Control Box Near a Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Memorial

  On June 16th I took a picture of a message that is on a control box for the traffic light on Main Street in Blanchard, Oklahoma. The message is located near a memorial statue that was dedicated to Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Tony K. Burris for his valor during the Korean War. The message of hope was first spotted in early April when the lock downs of COVID-19 were well underway. The message of hope reminds the local residents that hard times have been witnessed before and like those times, "We Will Get By." The message is located on the North East corner of the intersection between State Highway 76 and U.S. Highway 62; many people drive past this prominent intersection daily. The message itself appears to be spray painted with a stencil. Since the message's arrival, no one has attempted to remove it - despite a strict city stance towards graffiti. This message seems to resonate with locals for the sheer fact that it has remained in its location past several public events in the general area that normally would've caused a reaction to have any other graffiti removed. The framing of the sign, the flag, and the statue in the same photograph really resonates with me. This is the way rural people see and feel the sense memory of past sacrifices, the resiliency that resides in hope.
• 
  04/22/2020

  COVID themed Grafitti -- Brooklyn, NY on PAUSE ("Policies Assure Uniform Safety for Everyone"),

  Graffiti in Red Hook, Brooklyn -- political commentary re: US President and capitalism in the context of Covid crisis -- a moment where we rely heavily on "essential workers"
• 
  2020-05-16

  Town Spirit Stone with masks

  This is the town Spirit Stone in Traveler's Rest, SC. It is in front of Heritage Elementary School and people decorate it to celebrate special events, birthdays etc. Here someone has altered the a's in an ordinary birthday message so they are "wearing" masks. Neither the original artists nor the person who added the masks left a signature.
• 
  2020-03-22

  Graffitti on MBTA fence, Jamaica Plain neighborhood, Boston, MA

  Poor people, Black people, and Latinx people are suffering and dying during the pandemic more than others. Most frontline workers in Jamaica Plain-- from the cashiers and stockers at Whole Foods and Stop & Shop grocery stores, to the pharmacy's staff, to the aids at Brookside Community Health and Spaulding Rehab, are mostly low wage workers, many of them immigrants and/or people of color. The pandemic is forcing people to address longstanding social inequities, and the White House is failing to gain any trust that it will help those suffering. As recently as the day before I'm writing this, Donald Trump was pushing for all states to begin re-opening businesses that are not necessary at this time, largely staffed by people who are financially and socially vulnerable. Someone is taking out their frustrations by graffito-ing walls around JP; this is but one sample.
• 
  2020-03-21

  Graffitti on MBTA fence, Jamaica Plain neighborhood, Boston, MA

  Poor people, Black people, and Latinx people are suffering and dying during the pandemic more than others. Most frontline workers in Jamaica Plain-- from the cashiers and stockers at Whole Foods and Stop & Shop grocery stores, to the pharmacy's staff, to the aids at Brookside Community Health and Spaulding Rehab, are mostly low wage workers, many of them immigrants and/or people of color. The pandemic is forcing people to address longstanding social inequities, and the White House is failing to gain any trust that it will help those suffering. As recently as the day before I'm writing this, Donald Trump was pushing for all states to begin re-opening businesses that are not necessary at this time, largely staffed by people who are financially and socially vulnerable. Someone is taking out their frustrations by graffito-ing walls around JP; this is but one sample. *Graffitto painter is unknown. Photo taken by Ashley Enochs *03/22/2020; graffitti was painted over within a week of this picture being taken *Ashley Enochs, Boston MA
• 
  2020-03-19

  Graffiti on Grocery Store

  Graffiti shows cartoon "germ" and says "State of Emergency" and COVID-19. This was right at the beginning of the quarantine and is located on the block around the corner from a popular grocery store in Bushwick, the first place I saw with an enforced socially-distanced line outside.
• 
  2020-04-06

  A Walk through Covid-19 Brooklyn (Shore Parkway Bench)

  Walking along Shore Parkway, I encounter this coronavirus graffiti.
• 
  2020-04-17

  Creative Graffiti Appears on Boarded-Up French Quarter Businesses, New Orleans, LA

  Creative graffiti is appearing on many of the boarded-up French Quarter businesses.
• 
  2020-04-20

  Protect the Elderly not the 1%

  This graffiti went up in April inext to the Prahran Market, Stonnington, one of the areas in Melbourne with the highest count of Covid cases, which is also very affluent. The reference may refer to the poor compliance to lock down procedures in this wealthier area, with many residents of the suburb attending the market and not adhering to social distancing rules. I took this image after visiting the supermarket next door to the market for essentials. I was distressed by the number of people socialising at the market and not complying with social distancing measures, and came across this graffiti immediately after. It struck me as particularly relevant.
• 
  2020-04-20

  Protect the Elderly not the 1%

  This graffiti went up in April inext to the Prahran Market, Stonnington, one of the areas in Melbourne with the highest count of Covid cases, which is also very affluent. The reference may refer to the poor compliance to lock down procedures in this wealthier area, with many residents of the suburb attending the market and not adhering to social distancing rules. I took this image after visiting the supermarket next door to the market for essentials. I was distressed by the number of people socialising at the market and not complying with social distancing measures, and came across this graffiti immediately after. It struck me as particularly relevant.
• 
  2020-04-17

  Graffiti, Davis Square T station - detail

  Free groceries for all in need - 22 million Americans are now without work.
• 
  2020-04-17

  Graffiti, Davis Square T Station

  Six feet is considered the standard for social distancing to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This is also around the time when wearing face masks in public became the norm.
• 
  Taken on a walk through Logan Square, Chicago

  "Capitalism is the Virus"

  During this pandemic, it is not hard to notice the flaws that have been exposed in capitalist society. COVID-19 has shown what the effects massive layoffs and a surge of unemployment has on the economic infrastructure. There is a weak, built foundation behind capitalism—the framework is insufficient in providing for a large portion of the American public. As many of us are ‘sheltered in place’, unemployed, and struggling to pay rent, another worry places pressure on the public—the failure of the economy, and another Depression era. Anxieties are high, and the reasoning is valid. #DePaulHST391
• 
  A 75-degree Tuesday, Many people were out an about in Logan Square, Chicago

  "The End is Nigh"

  Walking down the street, it is more likely than not for one to stumble into a message like this. While many of these messages serve as a way to limit anxieties—bringing Chicago together in this ‘shelter in place’ initiative—this message differs. I cannot say that this is meant to bring people together. Yet, in a way, it is relatable. These last few weeks have produced a range of emotions in everyone—and while it is important to produce uplift for pedestrians emerging from their homes, it is also important to recognize that messages like “the end is nigh” is equally representative of the emotions that are present right now. #DePaulHST391
• 
  2020-03-25

  Rent Strike

  Graffiti in Jamaica Plain regarding a rent strike during the pandemic.
• 
  2020-03-30

  Fuck Corona

  A graffiti expression of frustration with COVID-19 and its impact on on lives.
• 
  2020-03-15

  Pedestrian Bridge Art

  Black spray paint mural on public pedestrian bridge at College Avenue as it passes over highway 60 in Tempe, AZ
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  2020-03-15

  Graffiti on a Pedestrian Bridge

  Black spray paint mural on public pedestrian bridge crossing highway 60 at College Avenue in Tempe, AZ