Where to Find the Best NYC Street Art
Rise NY by @mta_original and @hiphopismyreligion
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The Best NYC Street Art and Where to Find It
New York City is full of great public art. Famous street artists and famous graffiti artists flock to the big apple to paint incredible mural and graffiti art. If you’re looking for the best NYC street art this guide will give you a few key locations in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx so you can snap photos of those great NYC murals.
As always, I was joined on my search for famous New York Street art with Ms. Madelyn Pew, my french bulldog. She’s joined me before for my Los Angeles Street Art, Chicago Street Art, and San Francisco Street Art guides. She makes the perfect model and quite frankly, she’s great company.
Don’t want to explore on your own? Check out this amazing Brooklyn Street Art Tour. Or learn to make your own street art with a Brooklyn Graffiti Lesson.
Maddie in First Street Green Art Park
First Street Green Art Park, East Village
Located in a lot at 33 East 1st Street, this street art space has been standing in the Lower East Side since 2008 when First Street Garden incorporated the lot into First Park through the NYC Parks and Partnership for Parks. This park is a great place to spot street art in NYC. It’s also a great place to start your street art tour as the next few locations are all within walking distance of this neighborhood.
There are multiple walls here that are always changing and bringing new art to the community.
ADDRESS: 33 East 1st Street
George Floyd Memorial, The Bowery Wall, Nolita
2. The Bowery Wall Mural, Nolita
I love the Bowery wall. there’s always something new and interesting in this New York mural hot spot.
The Bowery Wall in Nolita is located on the northwest corner of Houston Street and Bowery. It first came into existence when Keith Haring painted his first public work on this very wall. Throughout the years it’s switched between a public art space and an advertising space, but thankfully it’s now reserved exclusively for NYC street artists.
There are several other murals and NYC graffiti located in the area if you wander around the surrounding blocks.
ADDRESS: 76 East Houston Street
3. Freeman Alley, Lower East Side
Walk down the street and you may miss this little alleyway. The best way to find this amazing art space is to look for Freeman’s Restaurant. That will lead you into a magical wonderland of street art and one of the biggest collections of graffiti art in New York.
ADDRESS: Between Bowery and Chrystie Street
Art by Daniello Mastrion, Bushwick Collective, Brooklyn
4. Bushwick Collective, Bushwick, Brooklyn
If you go looking for street art in only one place outside of Manhattan, make it the Bushwick Collective. This massive collection of Brooklyn graffiti and largely hip hop inspired murals is one of the most impressive collections of New York City street art.
The Bushwick Collective was started by Bushwick native Joe Ficalora. It begins on Jefferson Street and continues on Troutman Street towards Saint Nicholas Avenue.
ADDRESS: 427 Troutman St.
Mural by @marshmadeart
5. The Audubon Mural Project Street Art, Chelsea, NYC
Located along the High Line, The Audubon Mural is an impressive display of bird murals. Unfortunately, we didn’t budget our time correctly and saved it for our last day in NYC. Sadly, it was pouring rain so we missed capturing photos. But we did manage to visit Hudson Yards which has a few indoor murals like the one pictured above from street art artist @marshmadeart.
Coney Island in the off season
6. Coney Art Walls, Coney Island, Brooklyn
We visited NYC over Thanksgiving, which admittedly is not a great time to go to Coney Island. But if you’re visiting NYC in the summer or spring I recommend making the trip out to see the Coney Art Walls, an outdoor museum of street art curated by Joseph J. Sitt and art dealer Jeffrey Deitch. The walls bring thousands of visitors in the summer months when they spring to life with some of the best street art New York City has to offer.
The Coney art walls attract some of the best street artists from around the world. But again, late fall or winter is not the time to pay the walls a visit.
ADDRESS: 3050 Stillwell Ave
New York Wall Mural by Kobra Street Art located in Soho.
More Places to Find New York Graffiti and Street Art NYC
There are a few more places we weren’t able to hit up on our recent trip to NYC that offer some great graffiti and murals. NYC is full of great street art in all boroughs. If you have the time, here are a few more places to visit on your NYC street art tour.
Welling Court Mural Mural Project:
The Welling Court Mural Project is a collaborative art project in the borough of Queens led by Jonathan Ellis. The Welling Court Murals Project displays murals from 150 artists from New York City and countries around the world. Some of the most notable artists to take place in the project include Lady Pink, Tristan Easton, Cey Adams, Wane COD, Greg Lamarche, and Queen Andrea.
ADDRESS: To get there take the N or W subway line to the Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard stop. From there, walk west on Astoria Boulevard for 10 to 15 minutes toward 12th street.
Big Pun Memorial Mural:
The Big Pun memorial mural is one of the most popular murals in NYC.
ADDRESS: 910 Rogers Place, Bronx, NY.
100 Gates Project:
The 100 Gates project is a partnership between merchants and street artists to bring murals to roll down gates throughout New York City. You can read more about the project and its locations here on the 100 Gates Project website.
Dumbo Walls, Dumbo:
Started in 2012, the Dumbo Walls began with eight walls near the York Street subway station. The space has now grown to include works by studio artists, street artists, graphic designers, and more.
For locations visit the DUMBO Walls website.
Graffiti Hall of Fame, Harlem:
This wall in East Harlem has attracted street artists for more than thirty years. Unfortunately, the park is sometimes closed to the public, so you may not be able to get up close and personal depending on your luck. However, you will be able to photograph the art through the fence.
ADDRESS: East 106th & Park Ave.
Indian Woman with Henna Tattoo spotted in Greenwich Village
That’s The Best New York City Graffiti Art and Murals
I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour of NYC street art. As you can see, the streets have a lot to offer. If you have another area with great NYC street art to recommend please leave it in the comments below.
Happy travels!
