In Lisbon at the ‘International Museum day’ ten Portuguese designers, graffiti artists and illustrators threw down the gauntlet at the Van Goghs and Picassos. This left them cold, but made one message clear to the public: art is more than what hangs in the museums.

Normally the fronts are clearly defined: On one side the admired classics of the Old Masters; on the other, street art, not seldom reviewed as damage to property. At the annual Museum Day, instead of such black-and-white paintings, a colorful synthesis of the arts was displayed. At Red Bull Street Gallery ten street artists presented their works of art close to and with a conceptual reference to ten Lisbon museums – from the School Museum of Decorative Portuguese Arts to the Puppet Museum.

Red Bull Street Gallery held for the second time

On two-by-one-meter placards, the participating street artists Dheo, Hesp, Leonor Morais, Oker, Fidel, Klit, Blak Blok, 6 Letter Word, From The Cave and Jucapinga supplemented, updated or counter-acted the offerings and images of ‘their’ respective museum. After the open-air exhibition, the body of work was moved to the Revolver Platform, a Lisbon gallery, under the name Red Bull Art B_nker. And at the subsequent workshop with street art icon Herbert Baglione the question was raised as to whether in 200 years’ time, bored school kids will be led through museums filled with the hopelessly dusty art from the hip street artists of yesteryear ...

Red Bull
Red Bull Street Gallery