As part of Utopia 2016 at Somerset House, the exhibition will explore unsanctioned public art – or graffiti – as an intrinsically utopian practice.

Following the successes of Mapping the City and Futurismo Ancestral, Somerset House will again collaborate with arts organisation A(by)P to present Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street.
 
Arguing against the traditionally-held belief of graffiti as a dystopian movement or ‘glorified vandalism’, Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street will showcase the specially-commissioned work of eighteen street artists from around the globe, from stars of the scene such as Shepard Fairey, Swoon and REVOK, to critically acclaimed artists such as Brad Downey, Eltono and Filippo Minelli, each of whom will produce pieces responding to this theme. A number of artists, including Horfee, Nano4814, Petro and Russell Maurice, will create their works on site at Somerset House over the course of the exhibition, providing visitors with an insight into the processes of the practice.
 
In a literal sense, graffiti compels its practitioners to ‘venture beyond’ spatial and architectural boundaries, but also metaphorically provokes them to ‘venture beyond’ conceptual frontiers, to form new ways of thinking, acting and being in the world. Graffiti ornaments the city in resplendent colour and brings art out into the open, an art which belongs to all of us. It simultaneously reveals an aesthetic and social practice which anyone is welcome to join. Above all, graffiti and street art acts as an alternative voice, whether it is loud and brazen or more subtle and difficult to decipher, which strives to challenge the well-worn systems of society – something which Thomas More’s seminal text also set out. All of the artists will uniquely interpret their ideas on the utopian foundations of graffiti.
 
In addition, A(by)P and Somerset House will be producing a wide-ranging programme of events to follow the key themes of the exhibition, including workshops, talks, films, music and performances.

Running time and dates:
3 March - 2 May 2016
Daily 10.00-18.00 (last entry 17.15)

Venturing Beyond: Graffiti and the Everyday Utopias of the Street is part of
Utopia 2016: A Year of Imagination and Possibility