Philadelphia and Baltimore have had city-sanctioned graffiti programs for decades, but government-sponsored street art is a relatively new phenomenon in Washington. Over the past eight years, the MuralsDC project has created works that adorn some 50 facades across the District. Many more have been commissioned privately. Meet the five artists doing the most to influence the scene.
Kelly Towles
His O Street studio wall is good for practicing his signature cartoonish characters: “It’s almost like a conductor. If you don’t do it in the right manner, the music won’t come out the way you need it to.”
Aniekan
The artist behind the now-infamous Bill Cosby mural on the outside of Ben’s Chili Bowl, Aniekan Udofia also trades in social commentary, as in “Reloaded,” above, with its pencil-as-weapon imagery. His dream project: “Besides the White House? That would be the ultimate!”
Decoy
Like many street artists, Decoy (née Alicia Cosnahan) tags under a single moniker. An Army brat born abroad, then art-schooled in the US, she got her start making and hanging posters in DC. A lot of her work is based on kids and their life in the city—“not really how it’s changing but how it is or was.”
Gaia
Twenty-seven-year-old Andrew Pisacane, or Gaia, has pieces all over the world—in DC, his niche is restaurants. If you’ve been to H Street, Northeast, you’ve seen his massive rooster on Smith Commons; at the Barracks Row noodle/sushi bar Nooshi, “Overfishing,” above, makes a dark (but owner-approved) statement.
Chelove
Cita Sadeli, who grew up in Hyattsville, used to paint (illegally) along the train tracks near Brookland and Takoma in the ’90s. She says “a Chelove piece always has a sense of movement, usually some weird animal characters, and most likely characters flexing a dance, martial arts, or yoga move.”
This article appears in our January 2016 issue of Washingtonian.
