Paint Louis is an annual global community event happening over the American holiday Labor Day bringing together people practicing all four elements of hip hop including graffiti, breakdancing, rapping and DJs to St. Louis for three days of creation and performance.[1] The event started informally in 1995 as a "graffiti jam" and became more formalized in 1997 as noted with its 20th anniversary celebration in 2017. One of the originators, if not the man outright credited with the genesis of Paint Louis, is Stun1.[2][3]
| Paint Louis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Hip hop |
| Dates | September 3–5, 2021 |
| Location(s) | Kosciusko, St. Louis, Missouri |
| Years active | 1997 - Present |
| Founded by | John Harrington, Jonah Anderson |
The event is well known as the largest gathering of graffiti writers who have permission to legally paint the Mississippi River flood wall, along the Mississippi river all south of the Gateway Arch, deemed the "longest mural in the world" by Guinness Records.[2][4][5][6] Paint Louis is an international gathering of writers from around the world.[6]
Program edit
The event edit
Two days of graffiti writing and painting takes place usually from the Saturday and Sunday of the main event period over American Labor Day holiday.[1]
Scrap cans for kids edit
Extra cans called "scrap cans" are made available for free on the Saturday of the event to function as an outreach program to the community where seasoned graffiti writers teach kids the basics of graffiti writing. It is a family friendly event.[7]
Timeline edit
1995 - 1996 edit
Group of local St. Louis graffiti writers come together to do a "graffiti jam".[1][2]
1997 edit
The Underground Superfest takes place at the Mississippi River flood wall. Graffiti artists from across the U.S. make their way to St. Louis to paint.[1]
1998 edit
Paint Louis 1998 had formal t-shirts and a DVD documentary created about the event. Rappers Fat Joe and Big Pun came to the event and painted murals. Tribal Street Wear and Starbucks Frappuccino sponsored the event. And, the Guinness Book of World Records named the Paint Louis wall as the longest graffiti mural in the world.[1]
2001 edit
Artists came to the city and "bombed" the city by painting all over downtown and outside the boundaries of the Paint Louis river wall causing problems and millions of dollars of damage, and the city of St. Louis shutdown the event.[1]
2012 edit
Two of the original committee members decided to initiate the event formally again with the support of city officials. Artists included Whisper, Stun1 and Peat Wollaeger.[1][8][9]
2013 edit
By 2013, Paint Louis hosted 300 artists and had around 1,000 people attend and took place earlier than Labor Day on June 21–23, 2013.[1][9][10]
2014 edit
Paint Louis 2014 took place from August 29, 2014 until September 1, 2014 with 200 artists, 1 mile of wall, over 4 days.[11]
Organizers included John Harrington from Midwest Avengers and AJ Sanchez. Organizers spent more than $10,000 to get Paint Louis off the ground. Jona Anderson, better known as Stun or Stun1, said about Paint Louis, "This is like the Super Bowl of graffiti."[12]
2015 edit
Paint Louis 2015 took place Labor Day 2015.[13] After Paint Louis 2015, organizer John Harrington stated that he fears Paint Louis will be cancelled in the future. He noted that 200 writers were invited to participate and propose their works so that wall space may be allocated. But, over 350 writers showed up who did not go through the submission process, so complications arose from the overload. Some artists were unhappy and took action.[14][15]
Artists who did not go through the submission process painted unsanctioned areas all over town.[14]
Harrington created a cleanup crew of 30 of the Paint Louis event participants who took tips on locations to unsanctioned graffiti to cleanup for free. The crew spent $1,200 to cleanup works receiving complaints.[16]
2016 edit
Paint Louis 2016 took place Labor Day 2016 and was not cancelled as had been predicted in 2015 and consisted of International artists. The size of the wall also reported as "20-feet-by-4-miles."[4][17][18]
2017 edit
Paint Louis 2017 took place from September 22–24, 2017, the 20th anniversary of Paint Louis.[3][19][20][21]
2018 edit
Paint Louis 2018 took place Labor Day Weekend from August 31 until September 2, 2018.[1]
Performances were given by F.R.E.S.H. Hip Hop St. Louis, Basement Sound System DJ Collective, Far Fetched Music Collective and Jonezy & Friends.[22][23][24]
2019 edit
Paint Louis 2019 continued the annual tradition of graffiti writing from August 28 until September 2, 2019. Paint Louis 2019 focused on women's presence in the art form.[25] Co-founder John Harrington said that 212 artists registered but more than 250 participated at the event to paint 20-foot high murals on the longest graffiti wall in the world.[26]
2020 edit
Paint Louis 2020 is to be held online as an open call for participation. John Harrington, Paint Louis co-founder and organizer stated, “Paint Louis has always been about showcasing local St. Louis artists and Midwest artists as a whole. Over the years, we expanded it to all street and mural artists and it has become an international event. Due to Covid-19, we feel the best way to keep the event safe this year is to do a virtual event featuring all types of visual artists including canvas painters, graphic designers, digital artists, air brushers, muralists, and graffiti art.” All activity for Paint Louis 2020 is organized on the official project webpage.[27][28]
2021 edit
Paint Louis 2021 was scheduled for September 3 - September 5.[29]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "A little bit of history". STL Paint Louis. Archived from the original on 27 Oct 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b c Rhoades, Nikki (14 January 2018). "There's No Attraction In The World Like This One In St. Louis". Only in Your State. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b KLOEPPLE, SARAH (22 September 2017). "Watch artists graffiti 1.5-miles of flood wall at Paint Louis". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b Bernhard, Jimmy (3 June 2016). "Our Beautiful City: Paint Louis Graffiti Wall". KSDK. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "THE MURAL MILE (FLOODWALL)". Regional Arts Commission. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Paint Louis to Join Forces with Inaugural St. Louis Hip-Hop Week This Year". River Front Times. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Scrap Cans for Kids". Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ Crone, Thomas (9 October 2012). "The Return of Paint Louis, as Told in Three Acts". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b Crone, Thomas (31 July 2013). "A Second Run of Paint Louis". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Paint Louis 2013". STL Paint Louis. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Paint Louis 2014". STL Paint Louis. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ Arnold, WILLIS RYDER (30 August 2014). "Graffiti Festival Paint Louis Begins Second Year Reboot". STL Paint Louis. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Paint Louis 2015". STL Paint Louis. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b Essig, Jeremy (22 September 2015). "Paint Louis in Jeopardy After Graffiti Artists "Bomb" St. Louis". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ SCHANKMAN, PAUL (7 October 2015). "Graffiti artist causing headaches for MoDOT and St. Louis city". Fox2now. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ Bock, Jessica (1 December 2015). "Graffiti complaints rise in St. Louis; is artistic competition to blame?". St Louis Today. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Paint Louis 2016". STL Paint Louis. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "International Artists Descend on St. Louis for 'Paint Louis'". CBS. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Paint Louis 2017". STL Paint Louis. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ Gutknecht, Boomer (24 September 2017). "Paint Louis 2017". Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ BECK, KARL (11 October 2017). "Paint Louis Adds a Fresh Coat to the Riverfront". The Art STL. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Paint Louis 2018". do314. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ "Video: Paint Louis weekend has arrived, and so have the graffiti artists". St. Louis Dispatch. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ^ "Photos: Paint Louis along the riverfront flood wall". St. Louis Dispatch. 1 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
- ^ DEWARREN SMITH (29 Aug 2019). "This Weekend Paint Louis Returns to Saint Louis". DeluxMag. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ Bria Gremillion (5 Sep 2019). "Hundreds of street artists brighten riverfront in Paint Louis". METROSTL. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "Paint Louis 2020 Call for Participation for Artists". Fabricatorz Foundation News. 11 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ "Paint Louis". Paint Louis Facebook Page. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ "Paint Louis 2021". Paint Louis Instagram Announcement. 11 July 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
External links edit
