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Street art is unofficial and independent visual art created in public locations for public visibility. Street art is associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti", and guerrilla art.

Germany's Berlin Wall (shown 1986) was a target of artists during its existence (1961–1989) "Independent public art" such as a balance sculpture can be installed in remote areas, and may be short-lived. Street art is a form of artwork that is displayed in public on surrounding buildings, on streets, trains, and on other publicly viewed surfaces. Many instances come in the form of guerrilla art, which is intended to make a personal statement about the society that the artist lives within. The work has moved from the beginnings of graffiti and vandalism to new modes where artists work to bring messages, or just beauty, to an audience. Some artists may use "smart vandalism" as a way to raise awareness of social and political issues, whereas other artists use urban space as an opportunity to display personal artwork. Artists may also appreciate the challenges and risks that are associated with installing illicit artwork in public places. A common motive is t...

Some street artists have earned international attention for their work and have made a full transition from street art into the mainstream art world — some while continuing to produce art on the streets. Keith Haring was among the earliest wave of street artists in the 1980s to do so. Traditional graffiti and street art motifs have also increasingly been incorporated into mainstream advertising, with many instances of artists contracted to work as graphic designers for corporations. Graffiti artist Haze has provided font and graphic designs for music acts such as the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy. Shepard Fairey's street posters of then-presidential candidate Barack Obama were reworked by a special commission for use in the presidential campaign. A version of the artwork also appeared on the cover of Time magazine. It is also not uncommon for street artists to start their own merchandising lines. citation needed Street art has received artistic recognition with the high-profile s...

Graffiti is characteristically made up of written words that are meant to represent a group or community in a covert way and in plain sight. The telltale sign of street art is that it usually includes images, illustrations, or symbols that are meant to convey a message. While both works are meant to represent or tell a message to viewers, one difference between the two comes in the specific viewers that it is meant for. One trait of street art that has helped to bring it to positive light in the public eye is that the messages shown are usually made to be understandable to all. While both of these types of art have many differences, there are more similarities than their origins. Both graffiti and street art are works of art that are created with the same intent. Most artists, whether they are working anonymously, creating an intentionally incomprehensible message, or fighting for some greater cause are working with the same ambitions for popularity, recognition, and the public display...

Although street art may be ubiquitous around the world, the popularity of its artistic expression is relatively recent. Street art has undergone a major transformation in public opinion to become socially accepted and respected in some public places. Even with this degree of acceptance, defacing private or public property with any and all message, whether it is considered art or not, is still widely illegal. In the beginning, graffiti was the only form of street art that there was and it was widely considered to be a delinquent act of territorial marking and crude messaging. Initially, there were very clear divisions between the work of a street artist and the act of tagging a public or private property, but in recent years where the artists are treading the line between the two, this line has become increasingly blurred. Those who truly appreciate the work of famed street artists or street works of art are in acceptance of the fact that this art would not be the same without the med...

The free art movement is the practice of artists leaving art in public places as street art, as well as being free for the public to remove and keep. The artwork is usually tagged with a notice stating it is free art, and either with the artist's name or left anonymously. The movement was reinvigorated by British artist My Dog Sighs coining the term "Free Art Fridays" and actively participating in the movement, which has since spread internationally. Clues to the location of artworks are sometimes left on social media to combine treasure hunting with art. The movement is distinct from the free culture movement as the artist retains full copyright for the work.

Given the various benefits and high return on investment street art provides to businesses, schools, neighborhoods, and cities, a movement of using street art as a tool to create safer, brighter, more colorful, and inspiring communities has also been recognized. Organizations like Beautify Earth have pioneered cities to leverage these benefits to create widespread beauty where it would be otherwise empty or dilapidated public wall space. North America edit New York City attracts artists from around the world. In Manhattan , "post-graffiti" street art grew in the 1980s from the then largely vacant neighborhoods of SoHo and the Lower East Side. The Chelsea art district became another locale, with area galleries also hosting formal exhibitions of street artist's work. In Brooklyn , the Williamsburg and Dumbo neighborhoods — especially near the waterfront — are recognized street art sites. Chicago has many forms of street art emerging but some of the most popular artists t...

In 1981, Washington Project for the Arts held an exhibition entitled Street Works , which included urban art pioneers such as Fab Five Freddy and Lee Quiñones working directly on the streets. Sarasota Chalk Festival was founded in 2007 sponsoring street art by artists initially invited from throughout the US and soon extended to internationally. In 2011 the festival introduced a Going Vertical mural program and its Cellograph project to accompany the street drawings that also are created by renowned artists from around the world. Many international films have been produced by and about artists who have participated in the programs, their murals and street drawings, and special events at the festival. The Street art festival istanbul is Turkey's first annual street art and post-graffiti festival. The Festival was founded by the artist and graphics designer Pertev Emre Tastaban in 2007. Living Walls is an annual street art conference founded in 2009. In 2010 it was hosted in Atlan...