The first year of offMetro we set-out to find the best graffiti and street art in the Williamsburg area. Much of it has been lost to time but here’s our old guide to Brooklyn Graffiti with photos of the original artwork and information about the arts former location.

To find current art, head to: offmetro.com/ny/a-self-guided-brooklyn-graffiti-tour.

Throw-ups and Pieces

t kid graffitiArtist: T.Kid (piece)
Location: Hope and Keap (on Hope)
ghost graffitiArtist: Ghost (piece)
Location: Keap and Hope (on Keap)
os gemeos graffitiArtist: Os Gemeos (piece)
Location: North 3rd and Wythe (on Wythe)
armer graffitiArtist: Armer (piece)
Location: North 10th and Roebling (Construction site on North 10th)
peek funk graffitiArtists: Peek/Funk (Pink and Smith) (pieces)
Location: North 6th and Metropolitan (Gas Station)
diva graffitiArtist: Diva (piece)
Location: North 6th and Metropolitan (Gas Station)
aero graffitiArtists: Aero/Teo (throw-ups)
Location: Metropolitan and Marcy (Abandoned Lot on Marcy)

Murals

Painted by individual artists or collectives, murals can sometimes commemorate emblematic musicians, politicians and activists. With the influence of graffiti in advertising, some graffiti artists have also been contracted to paint murals for local businesses and corporations. Featured murals on this tour include:

motug ewok muralMÖTUG collective (Monsters of the Unda – Ground)
Artist: Ewok (mural)
Location: Keap and Hope (on Hope)
motug mural hopeMÖTUG collective (Monsters of the Unda – Ground)
Artist: Ewok (mural)
Location: Keap and Hope (on Hope)
motug ewok mural keapMÖTUG collective (Monsters of the Unda – Ground) – Artist: Ewok (mural)
Location: Keap and Hope (on Keap)
motug obey mural keapMÖTUG collective (Monsters of the Unda – Ground)
Artists: Obey (mural)
Location: Keap and Hope (on Keap)
motug mural keapMÖTUG collective (Monsters of the Unda – Ground)
Artists: T.Kid (mural)
Location: Keap and Hope (on Keap)
r.robots graffitiArtist: R.Robots (mural)
Location: North 3rd and Bedford (on North 3rd)
r.robots mural 2Artist: R.Robots (mural)
Location: North 3rd and Bedford (on North 3rd)

Stencils

Working from a print of one or more colors that are later sprayed-over, stencils allow graffiti artists to focus on cultural icons that can be reproduced with precision. In Williamsburg you will find stencil-work from:

nick walker paint

Artist: Nick Walker (paint/stencil)
Location: Roebling and Metropolitan (on Roebling)

c215 firebox

Artist: C215 (stencil)
Location: Corner of Roebling and Metropolitan (Fire Box)

c215 stencil

Artist: C215 (stencil)
Location: Metropolitan and Roebling (on Metropolitan, Staircase)

nick walker vandalism

Artist: Nick Walker (stencil)
Location: Wythe and North 3rd St. (on Wythe)

c215 stencil fbeArtist: C215 (stencil)
Location: Meeker and Withers (On Meeker, Gas station)
c215 stencilArtist: C215 (stencil)
Location: Meeker and Withers (On Withers, fire hydrant)

Poster-work

Graffiti artists wheatpaste their poster-work on billboards and walls, sometimes actively incorporating their surroundings into the piece. In Williamsburg you will enjoy a roundup of the most innovative wheatpaste artists:

faile wheatpaste 1Artist: Faile (wheatpaste)
Location: Wythe and North 3rd (on Wythe)
faile wheatpaste 2Artist: Faile (wheatpaste)
Location: Wythe and North 3rd (on Wythe)
obey wheatpasteArtist: Obey (wheatpaste)
Location: North 6th bet. Wythe and Kent
elbow toe wheatpasteArtist: Elbow Toe (wheatpaste)
Location: North 6th bet. Wythe and Kent
judith supine wheatpasteArtist: Judith Supine (wheatpaste)
Location: Meeker Avenue and North 7th (On North 7th)
ohm wheatpasteArtist: OHM (wheatpaste)
Location: Meeker Avenue and North 6th (on Meeker)

How to get there: Take the L train from Union Square to Lorimer St – Metropolitain Ave Station. Then proceed on foot at your discretion with the self-guided tour of the featured graffiti sites. Print out this article and the map below to help guide you to the locations. Please note that graffiti is usually not permanent, so we cannot guarantee that all our sites are still in tact. On the other hand, new art is constantly being created—let us know in the comments if you discover anything new in the area!

Map of Featured Artwork


View or Print Larger Map

Photos: Courtesy Arturo Conde

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44 COMMENTS

  2. awesome, condone destroying someone else’s property. what do we tell the homeowner’s that don’t want their property destroyed, it’s ok b/c it’s art?! should every homeowner who’s had his property vandalized walk into all the galleries and artistically express how they feel, after some ‘ARTIST/IDIOT’ paints their freshly cleaned wall? WOULD IT BE CALLED ART IF THEY PAINTED OVER SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK?

  3. i don’t think these were homes that were painted on. don’t worry, no homeowners were harmed by this art.

    and in some cases, businesses actually commission these artists to paint on their walls. why? because it IS awesome and it draws people to the building.

  4. hey, jt, if they had permission or were commissioned i think that’s great too, but walk around and you’ll see what i’m talking about and i guarantee that was not the case especially on the public property or the public part applies only to the person who paints first.

  5. Well, there’s a big difference between graffiti ARTISTS and kids with spray paint. The latter would tell you they’re an artist but they can barely tag their own name. Yes, a tag in a single color in a distasteful location (IE. the front of someone’s house/brownstone/residential building) sucks. But this is art and it is incredible what they can accomplish with Krylon or wheatpaste and a mischievous spirit.

    Besides, NYC wouldn’t be NYC without a little crime and graffiti. http://www.flickr.com/toddwshaffer

  6. Good article. I am not going to addresss the art/graff argument because unless its commissioned its still vandalism… 4 da masses: if they painted over someone elses work it would be called BEEF, and it can get serious. The thing I do want to stress is that it is considered verboten to disclose locations of work. A: its part of the fun in “finding” B: It helps keep the community tight as you have to get to know the artists or participate in order to know the locations and C: as with many high profile street artists like REVS, Gore-B, PS…… you would be amazed that people find the spots then take the work in an attempt to add the pieces to their “collection” or sell them. Please keep this in mind. Thanks. Get up, stay high! AnerA elc

  7. […] A Self-Guided Brooklyn Graffiti Tour (Street Art in Williamsburg, NYC) | offManhattan Once deemed as a subversive act by many detractors, graffiti has evolved into a popular art form that’s gained wide recognition in international galleries and influenced marketing campaigns, graphic designers, and the fashion industry. And while London has replaced New York at the forefront of street art, Williamsburg has remained a fertile ground for experimental graffiti. (tags: graffiti art brooklyn) […]

  11. […] Once deemed as a subversive act by many detractors, graffiti has evolved into a popular art form that’s gained wide recognition in international galleries and influenced marketing campaigns, graphic designers, and the fashion industry. And while London has replaced New York at the forefront of street art, Williamsburg has remained a fertile ground for experimental graffiti…full article here […]

  14. I can’t wait to get back from Seattle to do this tour. The article is inspiring and the photos inviting.

    We need to be open to new definitions of art. Is something evoked in the viewer? Are we transported into another’s reality?

    I think the person who commented that as long as the art is vandalism of someone’s property, the ethics are still questionable.

    Off Manhattan is the vehicle we all need to broaden our experience of NY.

    Thanks for opening up the boarders of NY.

  15. […] Off Manhattan have posted some excellent pieces (we tried not to post the same, see??) – their walking tour is worth a […]

  16. […] is full of artists. Every day, walking down Bedford Avenue, you’re confronted by posters, graffiti art, and talking heads–all the product of someone’s kaleidoscopic mind. And somehow, […]

  24. UN peacekeepers have “failed” the victims of mass rape in eastern DR Congo, a senior UN official has said.

  31. Take 2: The Day After – Trashing Your Dress Should I or Not ?? » Brett Szemple as Our-Wedding-Photographer.net (the blog)

    […] Graffiti art in Brooklyn / […]

  33. […] Graffiti art in Brooklyn / […]

  35. […] Kent Ave. Working your way North, check out the soon-to-be-condos Domino Sugar factory, and the street art and murals that are woven into the neighborhood. You can see the work of Phetus, El Puente, Paul Richard, […]

  38. […] Kent Ave. Working your way North, check out the soon-to-be-condos Domino Sugar factory, and the street art and murals that are woven into the neighborhood. You can see the work of Phetus, El Puente, Paul Richard, […]

  39. […] Kent Ave. Working your way North, check out the soon-to-be-condos Domino Sugar factory, and thestreet art and murals that are woven into the neighborhood. You can see the work of Phetus, El Puente, Paul Richard, […]

  40. to my fellow street artists-i hope that they started collaborating to get all the medical care and insurance that i had lined for you all
    the hospital -woodhull as that is where keith harings mural is at
    one or more of you were to have completed an actual proposal for what i named the starving artist project
    for one building to be decorated -tastefully and artistically and then to have the gallery, exhibit, showing -real estate, stock broker investors, to see if the property would be sold for a significant value
    -to see if it appreciated
    i sent out the info to sothebys, christies by the way
    i hope you all understand that it is happening -so dont lose your cool as some thought i had or wanted all to think that

  41. has anyone seen a soda can all tagged up epoxied to a mail box? saw this on roebling and hope last week.

  43. We did the walk in July 2015 and most of the locations are gone, as buildings were replaced by new developments. We did find a nice Roa at Withers street, but in all this is not the place to watch street art any more. We should have gone to Seigel street.

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