UK's Most Significant Street Art Set to Be Digitized

UK’s Most Significant Street Art Will Be Digitized Over the Next Three Years

By Jessica Stewart on February 19, 2024

“Owl” by Curtis Hylton, 2022, Royal Mews, Southend, Essex (Photo: Tracy Jenkins, courtesy of Art UK, © the artist)

By its very nature, street art is ephemeral. Due to weather, theft, or demolition, mural art is vulnerable to many potential risks. But as a result of the work of one organization, street art in the United Kingdom now has a permanent home online. Art UK is a digital archive with over 300,000 works belonging to public art collections nationwide. Thanks to a new three-year initiative, 5,000 pieces of street art across the UK will be added to the collection. This ensures that their legacy remains long after they may fade from view.

The program began in January 2024 and includes many different types of street art. While painted murals will form the bulk of what will be digitized, Art UK will also be documenting “sculptural murals in concrete, brick, wood, stone, tile, and other materials.” By adding this work to its database of institutional public art, Art UK is also helping elevate what can sometimes be seen as an outsider art form.

Once the street art has been added to the online database, its record will be continuously updated. This means anyone can discover if the work has been removed or defaced. Each piece will also be incorporated into Art UK's public education programming, which includes workshops, films, accessible audio versions of the record, and learning resources for teachers.

“Battle of Cable Street” by Desmond Rochfort, Dave Binnington, Paul Butler, and more, 1976–1983, St George's Park, Cable Street, Tower Hamlets (Photo: Anthony McIntosh / Art UK, © the artist)

“As well as highlighting more well-known artists and adding to their legacy, this project will reveal the stories, artworks, and practice of lesser-known muralists, who may not previously have received as much attention,” shared the organization in a statement.

Some of the work entering the database dates from the 1960s and 1970s, while other pieces are much more recent. By incorporating painted murals into its scope of work, Art UK is acknowledging the increasing importance of street art. It is also another sign of the increased acceptance of street art in the contemporary art world.

Banksy, of course, is present in the database, along with a mix of established and lesser-known muralists. You can take a peek at what's been digitized already and keep checking back as more is added.