Exploring Street Art on Brick Lane: Independent Route with a Map Provided
Brick Lane, a bustling hub in East London, is renowned for its colorful graffiti, rich history, and vibrant culture. This vibrant street offers an open-air gallery of street art, showcasing the works of some of the city's most famous artists. Here's a self-guided tour that will introduce you to Brick Lane's street art scene.
Begin your journey at the corner of Wentworth Street and Brick Lane. As you walk along, you'll find a plethora of murals, stencils, stickers, posters, paste-ups, mosaics, tiles, and 3D art. Famous local artists such as Jim Vision, Jimmy C, Ben Eine, Stik, Malarkey, and Mr Cenz have left their mark on the walls of Brick Lane.
On your right, just before the bridge, is a small alleyway leading to Brick Lane Station Park, nicknamed Graffiti Alley, usually home to some great large-scale graffiti. Past the bridge, turning left into Cheshire Street leads to Grimsby Street, where awesome large-scale murals can be found. At the back of Grimsby St, a large mural by Hackney-born artist Stik, known as The Screamers, can be found.
In Sclater Street, murals and paste-ups can be found all along the wall on the left side of the road. Adrian Boswell, aka Broccoli Man, has small, brightly painted broccoli sculptures attached to buildings along Brick Lane. Don't miss the abandoned shop covered in paste-ups and small paintings next to Christ Church School.
The former Truman Brewery has tiles, mosaics, and stickers, particularly on building corners. A huge-scale mural from London-born letterform artist Ben Eine can be found along the entire length of Ebor St. On Whitby St, there are murals from two local legends: a long-standing bubble art mural by Jimmy C and a colorful mural by East-London-based Jim Vision.
As you continue your tour, you'll pass by a "legal wall" used for commissioned street art on the other side of Bethnal Green Road. Two Space Invader tiles can be found near the Truman Brewery. Just after the Quaker St/Buxton St junction, a railway bridge usually covered with various tags and a few fun murals is present.
Brick Lane's street art scene is deeply rooted in the legacy of Banksy, who helped popularize the area’s art culture in the 2000s. Other renowned English street artists who influence the area and broader London scene include D*Face, a master illustrator; Phlegm, known for intense surrealist murals; and Roid, a design-focused muralist.
This tour provides an introduction to the area's street art scene, but Brick Lane's vibrant street art is often featured in specialized tours, highlighting the latest works and artists active in the community as well as historical contributions. So, grab a map, put on your walking shoes, and immerse yourself in Brick Lane's vibrant street art scene!
[1] StreetArtLondon.com, 2021. Brick Lane Street Art. [Online] Available at: https://streetartlondon.com/brick-lane-street-art/ [2] GraffitiStreet.com, 2021. Ben Eine. [Online] Available at: https://www.graffitistreet.com/artist/ben-eine/ [3] StreetArtLondon.com, 2021. Stik. [Online] Available at: https://streetartlondon.com/stik/ [4] TimeOut.com, 2021. The best street art in London. [Online] Available at: https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/the-best-street-art-in-london [5] TimeOut.com, 2021. Brick Lane Street Art Tour. [Online] Available at: https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/brick-lane-street-art-tour
- Immense the vibrant street art scene of Brick Lane by starting your self-guided tour at the corner of Wentworth Street and Brick Lane, where you'll find a variety of murals, stencils, and large-scale graffiti from renowned artists like Jim Vision, Jimmy C, and Stik.
- Walking along Brick Lane will introduce you to a plethora of art forms, such as mosaics, tiles, paste-ups, and 3D pieces, many created by local artists like Ben Eine, Adrian Boswell (Broccoli Man), and Hackney-born artist Stik.
- Take a left into Cheshire Street and continue on to Grimsby Street to discover impressive large-scale murals, and don't forget to check out the iconic mural, The Screamers, at the back of Grimsby St.
- As you move further along Sclater Street, look for murals, paste-ups, and small painted sculptures, including the famous broccoli works of Broccoli Man. Also, notice the abandoned shop covered in paste-ups and small paintings near Christ Church School.