Urban art (''L. urbanus f the city', originating in turn from ''urbs ity') refers to a

Biennial Biennial means (an event) lasting for two years or occurring every two years. The related term biennium is used in reference to a period of two years. In particular, it can refer to: * Biennial plant, a plant which blooms in its second year and th ...

, which has set its goal to clarify the current positions of this relatively new art movement, document its development in a two-yearly rhythm and provide an overview of the world scene in UrbanArt. The ''European Centre for Art and Industry Culture'' at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Cultural Heritage Site at the Völklingen Ironworks is hosting it in the

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

town

Völklingen Völklingen (french: Vœlklange, Moselle Franconian: ''Välglinge'') is a town in the district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Saar, approx. 10 km west of Saarbrücken, and directly borders France. The to ...

Description

Urban art Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

is a recent art movement of the 21st century, whose impetus emanates from the city and which refers to city life. The art is largely practiced by artists living in an urban environment or those who have a preference for the city. UrbanArt combines

Street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...

Graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

and other varieties of the modern art movement. As it is predominantly inspired by urban architecture and thematises an urban lifestyle, it frequently embraces all forms of the pictorial arts that surface in urban spaces. UrbanArt is a cultural phenomenon of our age, in no way a new art form. In 2011 the exhibition first took place with the title ''"UrbanArt - Graffiti 21.

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Völklingen"'' in the huge industrial buildings of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site at the Völklingen Ironworks. The idea came from Völklingen Ironworks general director Meinrad Maria Grewenig. He had already taken on Pop- and

Op Art Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions. Op artworks are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images ...

and shed light on their influence on UrbanArt in quite a number of comprehensive exhibitions at the World Cultural Heritage Site at the Völklingen Ironworks. Parallel to the exhibition in Völklingen a large-scale exhibition “Art in the streets” took place in the

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's o ...

, which caused a worldwide sensation. The theme “Urban art” was en vogue. Thus was born the idea of a two-yearly survey on the development of Urban Art”. In 2013 the second exhibition took place in the framework of the new Biennial. Its major emphasis focused on the development from its original street painting on to the opening of museums and art galleries to this new art movement. Over 40 international Urban art artists took part, which would become extremely successful for the World Cultural Heritage Site at the Völklingen Ironworks. The next Biennial took place in 2015. With over 80 artists hailing from 21 countries and 6 continents including

Shepard Fairey Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989 he designed the " Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker cam ...

Ceet Fouad Ceet Fouad ronounced: “see-TEE”(born 1971) is a French-Algerian graffiti artist. Biography Ceet Fouad was born in Algeria in 1971, of Moroccan descent, and moved to Toulouse, France, in 1978 at the age of seven years old. Since 2003, Fouad ...

, Fuego Fatal,

JonOne JonOne (born John Andrew Perello, 1963), also known as Jon156, is an American graffiti artist. Originally from New York, he lives and works in Paris. Early life and upbringing JonOne was born in New York City, New York's Harlem neighborhood to p ...

, Ganzeer, Anders Gjennestad,

Yazan Halwani Yazan Halwani () is a Lebanese artist and activist from Beirut. Yazan is best known for his public art displays, including graffiti, murals, and sculptures. His murals can be found on buildings across Beirut, and often depict portraits of importa ...

Logan Hicks Logan Hicks (1971) is an American contemporary artist born in 1971 and graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Background Logan Hicks was born in 1971 and grew up south of Baltimore, Mary ...

, Mark Jenkins, :fr:UrbanArt Biennale the exhibition grew to twice its size compared to that of 2013. Furthermore, the podium for the Biennial was vastly extended, more rooms created a 10,000m² covered area and an open-air course (the Parcour) of more than 100,000m².
With UrbanArt artworks from the Arabian region and in particular from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

the 2015 Biennial placed emphasis on particular countries. In the “Arab Spring” graffiti and other forms of Street Art became a means of expression used in the fight against repression, social grievances and for freedom of expression in the Arab states and particularly in Egypt.

Bibliography

*''Urban Art - Graffiti 21''. Ed. Meinrad Maria Grewenig. Heidelberg: Wunderhorn 2011. 93 pages, numerous coloured illustrations. *''UrbanArt Biennale 2013''. Ed. Meinrad Maria Grewenig. Heidelberg: Wunderhorn 2013. 96 pages, numerous coloured illustrations. *Rafael Schacter: ''The world atlas of street art and graffiti.'' Yale Univ. Pr., 2013. 400 pages, numerous colour illustrations. *Basma Hamdy u. Don Stone Karl: ''Walls of Freedom. Street art of the Egyptian Revolution.'' Berlin: From Here to Fame Publ., 2014. 268 pages numerous illustrations. *''UrbanArt Biennale 2015'. ed.: Meinrad Maria Grewenig. Heidelberg: Wunderhorn, 2015. 150 pages, numerous colour illustrations.

Notes and references

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Homepage World Cultural Heritage Site at the Völklingen Ironworks

Street art meets industrial chic in Germany's Urban Art Biennial from the year 2013 (BBC report in English)

Mia Gröndahl speaks about Revolution Graffiti in Egypt
Art biennials