Shoreditch Street Art: Just Passing Through!
Last fall I attended the World Travel Market in London, a three-day sensory overload of networking with travel industry and destination exhibitors (5000 stands and 50,000 visitors!). I stayed with a friend and fellow blogger, Shobha of Just Go Places, who lives in London. Each day we got in her car and drove across the city to the event venue, passing through, among other neighborhoods, Shoreditch.
As we crept each day, in each direction, around various construction projects, I noticed the abundance of street art we were passing, both on temporary walls around construction sites, and on the buildings themselves.
Given that we often moved at no more than a snail’s pace, I took the opportunity to take lots of pictures.
Here’s another one on a temporary wall around a construction site:
This is more of the same artwork; I just couldn’t fit it into one photo!
Some of what I’d call “street art” is on the buildings themselves in Shoreditch instead of traditional signage:
Notice the artwork over the doorway next to the Doc Martens:
Check out this huge painting fronting a bar:
These works were on the side of a building:
Besides artworks at street level, we also spotted three-dimensional art up above the storefronts:
And here’s another:
If you’re into street art, visit Shoreditch, but don’t do it as I did: passing by, captive in a car. Go out and walk around. There were plenty more excellent works of art that I couldn’t manage to get a decent picture of, either because we were moving at the time, or because too many people walked by just at the wrong moment.
Shoreditch is a trendy area with quirky shops and bars anyway, so plan your visit for the afternoon and stay the evening. This site has lots of information about what to see and do, besides admire the street art. Next time I’m in London, I’ll certainly take some time to walk this neighborhood!
Make sure to take a look at these other London posts:
Rachel Heller is a writer living in Groningen, the Netherlands. She is the owner and primary author of this website, Rachel’s Ruminations, a travel blog focused on independent travel with an emphasis on cultural and historical sites/sights. Read more here about her and about this website. Rachel also owns and operates a website about travel to UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Wow there’s some very talented people around. So these street arts are legal? I don’t see how they can do this if they have to constantly run away from the police.
I have no idea what the legality of it is. I suppose the building owners either allow it, or even commission it, because taggers would otherwise cover a blank wall with ugly graffiti.
Great photos! I think the last two are in Camden, another area with great street art.
Are they? Oops! It was on the same drive, so in my memory it all blurred into Shoreditch….
And, by the way, I think you took some of them; I remember handing you the camera a couple of times for street art on your side of the car…
I love street art. These are great. I’ve not been to the Shoreditch area – maybe on my next trip to London.
Definitely worth a detour!
Stunning! What an artists are hidden out there! I love the shoes most #TPThursday