The annual Whitecross Street Party returned for 2018 with an action packed day full of live street art, food, music, spoken word poetry, street fitness and a whole host of kids activities.
Hosted and arranged for the first time by the Curious Duke Gallery the atmosphere of the event certainly seemed to be more relaxed from previous outings with a lot of the more extreme quirkiness gone in favour of a more family friendly feel.
A giant inflatable octopus waving it’s tentacles at passers-by from the top of one of the nearby buildings was one of the stars of the show. A mainstay of previous years, the octopus hadn’t been seen for a while but here it was back again. It joined stages full of music, dance and poetry as the likes of the London Symphony Choir led an impressive array of entertainment options with many of the acts coming from local schools and youth groups.
WHITECROSS STREET PARTY CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF SUFFRAGE
Out of everything though it is the street art that really appeals to us here on Inspiring City and this time the artists had been given a theme! Given that it was a hundred years since some women were given the vote in 1918, that theme was a celebration of the anniversary and many of the artists took up the challenge.
STREET ART AT THE WHITECROSS STREET PARTY
A real mainstay of the event, the party just wouldn’t be the same without street art. This year artists such as Jerome Davenport, Inkie and Hannah Adamaszek also managed to create street pieces to be displayed prior to the day! The intention being to decorate the street beforehand so that on the day itself art was already looking down.
Another artist who had been busy was Andrea Tyrimos. A fine artist she can still often be found painting on the street. This time painting a couple of pillars with a pattern of exotic flowers she had already been creating the pieces for the week leading up to the party, only adding the final touches on the day itself. Her piece will be the only permanent addition to the street following the party.
Those works were joined by street artists from across the London scene adding their mark to the day. The art created is also an eclectic mix, from Airborne Mark’s origami moth to a stylised recreation of Emily Davison being hit by the kings horse from Vanessa Longchamp the art had this and all sorts in between.
The Whitecross Street Party was held on Sunday 15 July and was hosted by the Curious Duke Gallery. You can read about previous events on the Inspiring City Archives by clicking here.
Whitecross Street Party Gallery
Street Art
The Street Party Gallery
