April is Poetry month

Art and poetry are cut from the same cloth. Put a poem in your pocket and help celebrate Poetry month in NYC this April. There will be slams aplenty and where there are slams, there is street art.

What will your poem be?
In celebration of National Poetry Month in April, New York City is hosting the 7th annual Poem In Your Pocket day (PIYP) on Thursday, April 30, 2009. Be part of the excitement by carrying a poem in your pocket. You can write your own poem or borrow one from your favorite poet; just make sure to share it with your friends, family, and colleagues.

Poem in Your Pocket day will offer a series of poetry-inspired events throughout the city, including a full day of open-mic sessions for NYC public school students in Bryant Park. All month long, there will be a series of poetry-inspired events throughout the city. To learn more, visit the Events Calendar. www.nyc.gov/nyculture or www.nyc.gov/poem

Subway Art Gallery Opening

Street Art? Subway Art? Subway Gallery Opening? It is all related! is the site for a group of artists - performance and art. They are the ones behind the no-pants subway ride. Their October "opening" was announced via a platform sign:




and included such work as a Bravo cable TV ad, a pay phone and a gate (which had a red dot indicating a sale).



Improv Everywhere causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. Created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 80 missions involving thousands of undercover agents. The group is based in New York City.

Street Art Recognized in France

Okay, I am just cutting and pasting this short blurb in today's New York Times. Recognition for the street artists at last!

March 30, 2009
Arts, Briefly
Toasting Graffiti Artists
Compiled by LARRY ROHTER
It’s not quite the same as having one of your paintings in the Louvre, but a French exhibition, above, is enhancing the international recognition of graffiti artists. Among those honored in the show, called “Tag,” at the Grand Palais in Paris, are four New York pioneers who have been active since the 1970s: Toxic, Quik, Seen and Rammellzee, the last of whom showed up for an opening event in a Darth Vader-style mask. The exhibition, which runs through April 26, was commissioned and organized by Alain-Dominique Gallizia, a French architect who became interested in graffiti as an art form when he encountered examples of it at his work sites. Some 150 graffiti artists prepared works for display in the show; most are from the United States or France, but countries including Australia, Brazil, Chile and Japan are also represented.