On September 26, 2024, Museum of Graffiti opened its very first exhibition on mainland China, right in the heart of the Changning District of Shanghai--the biggest city in the entire country.
The exhibition, entitled "Street Echos" was prepared over the greater part of the past year and combines an explanation of graffiti's humble roots with the current status of the art form. The enormous space is equipped with a lifesize train, full skate park, an area dubbed the "playground," a record store installation, and a heavy-emphasis on new tech that teaches visitors the techniques of the trade.
Nothing compares however to the sprawling installations by globally renown artists who made the trip to secure their mark on the project. DocTC5 from NYC created a large scale burner with one of his classic characters as an authentic nod to the subway culture of his hometown.
Our fully functional indoor skate park is complete with site-specific murals by Ola Kalnins of Malmo, Sweeden who painted his classic skulls over the half pipe, a giant piece by veteran, active graffiti artists Sabe over a custom billboard advertisement for a personal injury lawyer, and a wall of skate decks painted live by JonOne. JonOne is no stranger to mainland China having broken barriers for the rest of the culture when he painted inside China's Forbidden City over a decade ago.
Consistent with our own traditions when we create exhibitions in different cities, we conduct heavy research on the artists from the region who are taking graffiti to the next level. In this instance, we proudly presented the studio works of two Chinese artists, Gas and Vance DNA who represent two completely diverse styles. Vance has previously presented his work in Miami at our flagship location, but exhibited brand new pieces along with 3D masterpieces.
Additional murals were completed by Murgre of Bogota, Colombia who made it a point to represent women of the movement in the exhibit along with Tones of Switzerland whose classic b-boy characters contributed substantially to conveying the culture.