We have already published the list of most visited artist galleries in The Street Art Directory during 2021 and now it is time to reveal the year’s most visited feature items which were published on the site. The major UK story of the year was undoubtedly Banksy’s visit to Norfolk and Suffolk in the spring to spread some love. It is no surprise to see the ‘spraycation’ featuring in this list as we were quick enough off the mark to be able to photograph most of the works before they had been dismantled, covered in perspex, removed to be sold overseas, painted over or otherwise defaced.
So here we go – the most visited posts in 2021 – in the time-honoured tradition of reverse order…
10. Banksy HAS paid a visit to the East Anglia coast!
We missed a couple of pieces. It’s amazing how fast councils can get to work to remove valuable tourist attractions when the mood takes them. Still, Most of Bansksy’s spraycation works were shared in all of their glory in this article with full details of how to find them.
9. Mark E Smith tributes in Manchester
The late Mark E Smith, founder and only ever-present member of The Fall is an iconic part of the Manchester music scene. Since his death in 2018 a number of tribute artworks have appeared on the walls of the city including this one on the side of a chippy in his home manor of Prestwich. This article from 2019 takes a look at the public MES gallery.
Fosh once again featured in the artist gallery top 10 for the year and this feature about some of Fosh’s artwork on the streets of London was also popular. We know little about Fosh but this recently snapped sticker confirms the diminutive lightweight slap tagger artist has no posse.
7. The Flying Kiwi in Manchester
We found this Flying Kiwi piece in Manchester, right next to some of the Mark E Smith tributes (see above). OK, the wingless bird is parachuting rather than flying but we are sure the sensation must be in many ways similar. We’ve since found more of this artist’s work in the city and maybe it is time to update the article for 2022 with a few more examples.
6. In conversation with Cliff Phillips
We’ve not done many interviews with artists to date but hope to do a few more in the coming months. Our most recent chat was with Cliff Phillips. Cliff is one of the few active artists not to have a social media profile or website but we enjoy his work so much we had to track him down and find out more about him and his work.
5. Background Bob and his amazing friends
Young Noah, aka Background Bob, has taken the art world by storm over the last couple of years. Noah has smiled his way through his medical challenges and has created an array of A4 colourful backgrounds that have provided the basis for collaborations with top street artists worldwide. These works have been immortalised in a book and the original pieces sold to raise a bucket load of money for his local hospital projects. We like Background Bob.
Our first interview for The Street Art Directory was with the creative Dr Cream. Amongst angsty vitriolic political street art you can find Dr Cream’s charming pasteup characters, each of which forms a frame of a simple animation. We find out more about the artist’s career to date and look forward to his new projects.
It is hard to visit Sheffield without bumping into at least one mural by Bubba2000. One standout piece, in the north of the city is of former Pulp frontman – the lyricist, musician, radio DJ and raconteur Jarvis Cocker who hails from the city.
2. Has Banksy paid a visit to the East Anglia coast?
The paint was (quite possibly) still wet when we toured the Norfolk and Suffolk coast to try and see some of the Banksy-style street art that had sprung up in Lowestoft, Gorleston and Great Yarmouth. We were learning about the locations as we went on, getting hints from some of the intrigued onlookers about where other works may be found. It was all quite exciting and felt very inclusive, with lots of lovely people rocking up to the towns to admire the new murals. And of course it wasn’t long before Banksy confirmed these were indeed his handiwork.
1. Bambi’s Princess Diana mural
The most viewed article last year was the 2019 post about Bambi’s iconic Princess Di mural near Covent Garden in London. The mural is still there today, protected from the elements under an archway. It depicts Prince George and Princess Charlotte looking up to the Poppinseque form of the grandmother they never had the opportunity to meet with the caption “You can be as naughty as you want just don’t get caught”.
The Street Art Directory is an independent website showcasing the works of the world’s street artists. The site currently presents gallery pages for 1400 artists with works from (so far) 5 continents. More artists and works are being uploaded all the time. You can receive emails with news about website updates and features by signing up here.
Many thanks to all the artists and website visitors for your support. We are looking forward to exciting 2022 full of new and vibrant street art.
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