Topic

Graffiti in the UK

How graffiti arrived in Britain, the cities and crews that shaped it, and where to see it today.

Graffiti is the other great tradition of unofficial, mostly self-taught art. People have scratched words onto British walls for centuries, but the style-led graffiti we know today arrived in the early 1980s with hip hop from New York. Within a few years crews were painting walls and trains in London, Bristol and the West Midlands. That scene produced Banksy, and with him the British street art boom.

This topic tells that story and is a practical guide to seeing it now. We also explain the law plainly, because most graffiti painted without permission is a crime.

What this topic covers

History: from political slogans to hip hop, the trains and the crews.
Places: Bristol, London, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, Brighton and Belfast.
People: 3D, Inkie, Nick Walker, the Chrome Angelz, King Robbo and Banksy.
Today: legal walls, festivals such as Upfest, and how UK law treats graffiti.

Curious how graffiti relates to outsider art? Read where graffiti meets outsider art.

Guides in this topic

01 History of UK graffiti From prisoners' carvings and political slogans to the hip hop crews of the 1980s and the street art boom: how graffiti… 02 Graffiti vs street art What separates graffiti from street art, and what writers mean by tags, throw-ups, pieces, burners, wildstyle and the… 03 Bristol graffiti How a city of sound systems and youth clubs produced 3D, Inkie, Nick Walker and Banksy, and became the UK's street art… 04 London graffiti From "Clapton is God" to the Chrome Angelz, the Underground, Leake Street and Shoreditch: how London built one of the… 05 Banksy From Bristol walls to Dismaland, a self-shredding painting and a statue on Pall Mall: Banksy's career explained, with… 06 Banksy vs King Robbo A 24-year-old piece under a canal bridge in Camden, a Banksy stencil, and a feud that pitted old-school writers against… 07 Best UK cities for street art A city-by-city guide to seeing graffiti and street art across the UK, from Bristol and Shoreditch to Glasgow's mural… 08 Legal graffiti walls There are fewer legal walls in the UK than most people think. Where they are, what "tolerated" really means, and how to… 09 Graffiti and UK law Graffiti without permission is a crime across the UK. A plain-English guide to the laws in England and Wales, Scotland… 10 UK street art festivals Where to watch artists paint live: the UK's main street art festivals, when they run, and the landmark events that… 11 Belfast murals Northern Ireland's painted walls are among the most famous murals in the world. Where the tradition came from, what the… 12 Graffiti and outsider art Both are self-taught, unofficial and made outside the gallery system. What graffiti and outsider art really have in…