After attending the superb High Vis Fest in Birmingham a few weeks prior, I’d an appetite for more street art so was chuffed to discover End of the Line’s Graffestival happening at the Nomadic Community Gardens in Shoreditch.

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They’ve run some six such events, otherwise as part of the global Meeting of Styles movement as last year and in the gardens; sadly the gardens’ lease is being sold on so it’s in its final weeks – but there’s very much a spirit of celebration and making the most of it while it lasts. Check out what was going on in the gallery below…

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On the weekend of the 7th September, Birmingham’s High Vis Festival hit Digbeth in and in the streets around Custard Factory. Street Art, Comics and Music? More besides? Coinciding also with 2000 AD’s Day of Dredd I just had to get on down for the Saturday… Check out some of the great stuff and people that was happening there and get along and support the next one if you possibly can…

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For over 20 years Meeting of Styles has globally celebrated the vibrance of street art, the UK leg of MoS – brought to us by EndoftheLine – has having done so in the capital for the last 8. I’d been unable to attend the last having discovered it via the brilliant LDNGraffiti so no way I was missing out this year! Just a cracking afternoon with a great vibe and live graffiti and DJs in the wonderful Nomadic Community Gardens of Brick Lane and we highly recommend it goes in your diaries for next year (it was the 26th-28th May this year). Check out the amazing art from this year and earlier below!

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At Carabas we’re about many things: the fantastical certainly, but we’re more generally about championing alternative culture and counter-culture; the marvelous, the wonderful and the creative; and certainly the things that will help bring a bit more understanding into the world.

So here’s our top non-fiction book recommends from titles publishing July to December: Alternative & Street Art, Biography, celebrations of David Bowie, Music, Culture, Popular Science (General), Fact Behind the Fiction (our round-up of more Pop Science and more Non-Fiction on fantastical subjects), History, London titles and Ethical Politics / Awareness Raising titles – the vibrant, the quirky, the worthy and the enlightening. There’s something here for everyone…

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	We’ve been keeping an eye out for books coming through on the vibrant art form of graffiti and street art generally and we spotted the latest from Art of Publishing and photographer Andy Cantillio, this volume focusing on Rio de Janeiro. We thought we’d give them a shout and see if they wanted to share some of Andy’s amazing photography of the ‘Marvelous City’ from it as a taster…
	Check it out below!

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	dankitchener.co.uk
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	@DanKitchener
	Street artist, illustrator, painter, animator, art director // Sponsored by DEPHECT clothing

From Dan’s Dephect page:

The cartoons I watched as a child and the comics I read still influence me massively now. I’ve stored up all the good bits in my mind and dip in when I need some ideas, quite often I do this without realizing it, like an endless resource. I get inspired now from all sorts of things, being out and about, trains, watching the scenery, moods, atmospheres. I like light and I like the way certain places feel, I quite often base my work on a feeling, usually dark ones! Read the rest of this entry »

	www.ottoschade.com
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	Otto is a chilean-german Artist, Architect and Urban Sculptor living in Europe since 2004

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From Otto’s website:

Otto was born in Chile on the 30th October 1971. He initially studied Architecture at the Bio Bio University and Construction and Design Architecture in Concepcion, Chile. As a successful architect, he has been awarded for public and private projects. Read the rest of this entry »

Having missed it in previous years we just had to get along to this years CECAF, the Crouch End Cartoon Art Festival, even if – as was the case – it was one of our classically late arrivals. CECAF, created by Sean Azzopardi, features as part of the Crouch End Festival though is very much it’s own thing and, as we discovered, really is a great mix of creators indie and mainer-stream, all sharing a real love of the scene and medium.

If you weren’t aware of it, couldn’t make, or were just even later than us (!) here’s a look at the books and folk at CECAF 2016 with Web and Twitter details: explore, discover, follow and enjoy!

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	www.firedon1.wix.com/paul-don-smith
	@dongraffiti
	From Twitter: London based URBAN ARTIST Est 1985

When we released James Mathurin’s article on street art in Shoreditch and Brick Lane, we were introduced to a whole array of astonishing art both of and beyond the creators he highlighted. A few in particular really captured our attention, both from the quality of the visuals and subject matter that was particularly our scene: music and film, especially fantastical characters from the latter, and just brilliantly conceived original imaginative pieces. Paul “DON” Smith was one, DON being his street art name.

So here for you to discover and enjoy as a Profile of Paul / DON is a selection of his work, his pieces that most appealed to us – but there’s plenty more to discover on his website and via his Twitter account (see above). We look forward to more…

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	www.vinnikiniki.com
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	@vinnikiniki
	Artist from London, obsessed with Alien Life, Graffiti & UV Art murals

From the artist’s website: I have exhibited internationally and like to create art on my travels, I look forward to meeting other artists and people to talk about ideas and collaborations.

As most artists, I try to create art that is original and unique. I aim to constantly push and evolve my practice as an artist and enjoy collaborating with other artists and learning new art techniques.

I mostly work on large street art pieces but do knock out the occasional canvas, I use a variety of mediums; spray paint, markers, paint, ink but I also create purely digital pieces. Black light reactive graffiti art murals being a speciality, I’m also very partial to painting aliens and spray cans amongst other twisted and odd looking characters.

Check out our selection of Vinnikiniki’s pieces from London, Bangkok and elswhere with some choice videos as well…

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	We’re all about the music at Carabas, and all about the comics. So when I got chatting with writer-artist of SURFACE TENSION from Titan Comics JAY GUNN at the London Super Comic Con and was told he worked to a ‘soundtrack’ in it’s creation I nearly bit his arm off to get the inside story (track) – Here it is…
	I’m sure many creators listen to music for inspiration when writing or illustrating, music helps to enable us to conjure up images and stories and thus it can become the soundtrack to our art. The soundtrack to Surface Tension was provided by the Bradford based band, New Model Army.

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I love street art. I always used to look forward to the pages near the back of Hip-Hop Connection (HHC) magazine, where they’d show pieces from around the UK. When I started getting more into photography, I started visiting places like Shoreditch, and particularly up and around Brick Lane. Those are areas that take a more relaxed view of graf, so artists are able to take their time, and express themselves more.

	It’s not a coincidence that I was introduced to street art through HHC. Graffiti is inextricably linked to hip-hop. Along with Deejaying, Emceeing, and B-Boying / Breakdancing, it was one of the “4 pillars” of hip-hop when it originated. Its roots were also firmly working class, originally, as spraycans were a cheap and available way to find self-expressions for youth in New York. You could ‘bomb’ a train, and have it go around the city like a mobile gallery, showing off your artistic skills to more people than would ever see it otherwise.
	As London artist Paul “Don” Smith put it in a 2013 interview:
	“There’s the wonderful hip hop movement that picked a lot of us up. There was music, dance and art – creativity for people who needed to do something. It goes back to New York. You have loads of kids, some a little upset and they found themselves through this incredible movement. Writing music, poetry, dancing… how much energy is being vented? It’s just saved so many people. I think graffiti is the darker side of all of this. You had to go into places you shouldn’t be. It was all quite rock and roll, drink and drugs coming a bit hand in hand with it.”

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	www.smspenc.wix.com/swalc
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	‘Writers, Artists, Film Makers, Live Music, Independent Films, An Award Winning Pub, Beer, Fine Wines & Sausage Rolls. What’s not to love?’

See also our profile with links on to writer and organiser of S.W.A.L.C. Si Spurrier here.

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	www.thekitschies.com
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	The annual award for the most progressive, intelligent and entertaining genre literature. Sponsored by Fallen London from Failbetter Games.

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News from London artist Miranda Benzies (the London Face series etc) about a new exhibitions featuring her work along with Nicholas Borden and Marc Googerham in October and November:

Waterloo Bridge at Dusk, oil on wood, 20x40cm, 2014 Miranda Benzies In her series of paintings called  ‘London Faces’, Miranda Benzies explores the correlation between people and cities, the architecture that is used and maintained by city dwellers over the centuries is anthropomorphically re-visioned. The buildings are viewed as the organs of the city, as if living proof of its inhabitancy over time. Blending into this way of seeing London, Miranda Benzies is also interested in the idea of legacy, suggesting the inherent human need to leave traces behind.

The Ghost of Southward Street, acrylic on canvas, 24×30″, 2014 Marc Gooderham Having always lived and worked in London, Marc Gooderham finds the city to be a perfect source of inspiration. In concentrating on the city’s decaying and unique architecture, Gooderham manages to capture the singular beauty to be found in those neglected buildings that have fallen into disrepair, as the living city continues to evolve around them. The artist will exhibit a newly commissioned painting  and a series of drawings and prints of familiar London scenes.

Cavendish Mansions, Clerkenwell Rd, pencil on paper, 2013 Nicholas Borden Borden brings his distinctly accessible and vibrantly painted views of London Street scenes to this exhibition – the scenes are painted plein air and present a pleasing conjunction of the delightfully known and the curiously viewed. For this show the artist presents exquisite line drawings and a newly commissioned painting made high above the city skyline in Petticoat Towers where the famous Middlesex Street, at the heart of Petticoat Lane Market, is seen anew.