BEYOND THE STREETS in LA
Roger Gastman, the art curator and critic, recently pleased fans with the launch of his long-anticipated BEYOND THE STREETS 2018 art exhibition and festival. Held in Los Angeles, the festival sees more than 100 artists come together to create the largest street and graffiti artwork exhibition on the planet. “From the time you walk in, there’s a lot of ‘Holy shit’ moments,” the curator proudly states. Some of the notable and hyped artists include Takashi Murakami, Banksy, Dash Snow, Jean-Michel Basquiat, FUTURA 2000, Lee QuiÅ„ones, Shepard Fairey and Felipe Pantone. 
The retrospective graffiti festival spans a massive 40,000 Square feet and is filled to the brim with installations and artwork wherever you look. Murakami’s installation draws a lot of attention with a huge eye-catching shower curtain covered in his iconic graphics.
Entitled “Artifact to Artifact Communication”, Felipe Pantone decided to make the biggest installation at the event with an entirely painted ULTRADYNAMIC 1994 Chevrolet Corvette. 
Other installations include a large-scale Banksy painting inspired by the elusive artist’s mural on the exterior of London’s Barbican. There is a recreation of the famous Venice Pavilion landmark by adidas skateboarding with the help of graffiti artist RISK. The installation is also completely skate-able and accompanied by apparel. There is a chapel filled with paintings by Mister Cartoon, a sculpture by Ron English and SLICK and even an entrance mural by RETNA.
BEYOND THE CITY have also issued limited edition Montana Cans in collaboration with Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and André Saraiva that are available at the exhibition's gift store as well as the web store. 
With the inaugural launch being held in LA, the festival celebrates the role of City of Angels as an artistic capital both in the past, present and future. That tribute comes in the form of special, on-site mass of installations showcasing unique bits of artwork and graffiti. “This is art. It’s real,” Roger Gastman says. “I want people to leave here inspired.” If you're lucky enough to be in LA from now until the exhibtion's end on 6 July, you would be stupid not to go check it out. Otherwise check out the photos to get a taste of how amazing BEYOND THE STREETS 2018 is. 
