In Print - 5 easy places to see street art in Hackney (with kids)

Whoop whoop! The Arts Crusade made the FRONT COVER of this month's Love East Magazine, giving the #KickUpTheArts campaign it's very own kick up the ar**.

Love East is the brainchild of Julie Daniels, editor and #artskicker-in-chief of this FREE local magazine, full of East London history, happenings, reviews and recommendations. Its day-by-day events calendar is a keeper - it goes straight on the fridge door at #ArtsCrusadeHQ.

In case you haven't got your copy yet, read it here or here's the article with some extras for you intrepid blog readers ;)

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It’s April. Here’s a #KickUpTheArts for you.

Us Hackney locals are swamped with great arts and culture right on our doorsteps. From the Hackney Empire to the Geffrye Museum, the V & A Museum of Childhood to the Arcola Theatre and the Whitechapel Gallery, we really are spoilt.

But for me, so much of the best art the borough has to offer is on its streets. I don’t fully agree with Banksy when he said, “the worst place to see art is in Museums”, but he definitely has a point. When we look at art in the context of other art, we’re influenced by how the gallery has positioned the work and by what surrounding pieces are saying too. When it comes to streetart, it’s BOOM, in your face, we’re either visually arrested, or we move on.

Artists like Stik, Stinkfish, AKAJimmyC and Zabou have made this borough their gallery. Their art is everywhere - not just in the hotspots of Shoreditch, Brick Lane and Hackney Wick, but in Haggerston, under the railway arches in Bethnal Green and in side streets off Dalston Lane. It’s ever-changing, emotionally charged and it’s FREE for all to enjoy.

Stinkfish, under the arches, Cambridge Heath Road

Plus, if you’re a parent, carer or anyone with kids in tow, you can view great art without worrying about fingerprints on the fine prints or crumbs in the cabinets. Bonus! Next time you pass a piece that catches your eye, stop, take it in and talk about it. Ask the kids to share their thoughts, what they like about it or don’t. It’s a great way to help them with self expression and I’m pretty sure it’d work well to kickstart an awkward teen date too ;)

5 easy places to see street art in Hackney (with kids)

Hackney Road - Walk from Cambridge Heath Station to Columbia Road, stop for a break at Hackney City Farm.

ItsArtista (main) and various artists, Hackney Road

Haggerston - Find Stik on Queensbridge Road then head down the canal towards Haggerston Station, swinging into Snake Park for a play if the kids are getting restless. The Haggerston Tea Room or Tin Cup cafe are both super friendly places with proper teas n coffees.

Dalston Lane - From Amhurst Road to Dalston Junction, there’s graffiti at the old Boy’s Club, a Stik above the shops, a tiny alley opposite that’s wall to wall ace and the now iconic peace mural is outside the Eastern Curve Garden - the perfect place to end up.

Stik, Dalston Lane

Hackney Wick - just get off the overground and walk around, this place is a treasure trove. Watch the boats from a canal-side cafe, or pop into the Pearl if you can get a seat…
(by the way, this twitter account is BRILLIANT for everything Wick-related)

The Rolling People, Wallis Road, Hackney Wick

Brick Lane - best before breakfast (when the shutters are down), have a mooch around the tunnel at Shoreditch Station, then walk across Brick Lane, down Cheshire Street to Grimsby Street. Then have a beigel and a cuppa - right there on the street.

Various artists, Brick Lane

Delighted to be back in print again next month, in the meantime join the crusade on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest and give yourself a #KickUpTheArts.

Swoosh!
The Arts Crusader⚡️