A mural in the biennale that includes Christ, a skeleton cop and donut handcuffs, the Green River Killer, and the Barefoot Bandit.
  • A mural in the biennale that includes Christ, a skeleton cop and donut handcuffs, the Green River Killer, and the Barefoot Bandit.
In our Bumbershoot guide freshly out, I write about this:

Street artists are in demand because it turns out they may be the best weapon against... street artists. They're being commissioned by private property owners and government agencies—the same authorities that would look to punish them for "night" work rather than "day" work.

Here's the whole piece.

At the Street Art Biennale.
  • At the Street Art Biennale.
What prompted me to write it is this weekend's 2010 Seattle Street Art Biennale, which I caught a preview of yesterday at Seattle Center. There's great stuff in there—freestanding walls, painted-up newspapers stands, dumpsters, tagged panel paintings. It's not the usual show. I'm told there'll be videos of Seattle graffiti going back to the '80s, too. Get there. (And if you want to see a bunch of photos from the show, FB friend me already.)

Will the Mayor's Arts Awards, to be held right next door to the street biennale, be tense this time around? Hmm...