Take Back The Alley- Pop Up Art Show

by Kate Hoos | Jul 27, 2021 | Random

DIY comes in all forms, street art being one of the purest forms of it really, a visceral non digital form of social media* letting passersby into a secret world contained in the mind of the artist who created the work (*social media actually being an ancient concept dating to the days of cave paintings). I’m always happy to look into that secret world be it through finding random tags on the street or by going to a more formally organized event showing off works by street artists made on canvas, paper, and other mediums. And that is exactly what “Take Back The Alley” was, yes a formally organized event, but absolutely a DIY affair which saw a small alley space in Ridgewood, Queens transformed into a gallery for an afternoon to showcase artists who create both in the streets and outside of that context.

Participating artists included HISS, Big Cutlery, Trashy Dreams, Stoic Mortuorum (which is the creation of Spite Fuxxx drummer Alex), Imamaker, Sarofoxx, Brad M Bailey, and more. In addition to the work on display that was for sale, many of the artists also had sticker packs, zines, and other small works available. The best way to support artists and the arts in general is to purchase directly from them whenever possible, so I was glad to be able to pick up a few things to bring home and decorate FTA headquarters with. It was a little crowded- but no complaints from me because I always love seeing folks enjoying art- so I didn’t get to snap as many pictures overall as I would have liked, but I got a few to share below because I made sure to at least catch pics all of my favorites before I left.

While my favorite way to interact with art is to find it randomly on the street in my travels, social media (of the modern digital variety) makes it a lot easier to keep up with everything these days, including what street artists are up to and to actively support them when I’m able to. With that in mind, I absolutely will keep looking for things in my daily travels but I will also keep my eyes on what all of the participating artists In this show get up to and head out to their other shows whenever I have the opportunity to go. I love to support the arts and strive to do so any time, and in any way I can. And you should too.