US graffiti stars highlight Swedish convention.

Europe's and America's leading street art figures convene, promote expressive freedom. 

  • The Swedish National Theater, 'Riksteatern,' is organizing a two day long street art convention in Stockholm on August 13-14

  • The Swedish National Theater, 'Riksteatern,' is organizing a two day long street art convention in Stockholm on August 13-14, and American graffiti celebrities Adam Mansbach as well as TooFly will appear on the program of seminars, workshops, debates, live painting, lectures, film screenings and music.

  • Among international artists, writers, commentators and researchers at the event in Stockholm will be Adam Mansbach and the graffiti artist TooFly from Queens. Photo here by Bo Zaunders, NY, has no relevance to the story.

  • Both indoors and outside, "Art of the Streets," at the 'Södra Teatern' / Southern Theater in Stockholm, will attract artists from around the work. "We want to give graffiti artists the opportunity to legally practice their art," says Ceylan Holago, producer of the project. He adds that at Kägelbanan, Stockholm's only legitimate open wall will permit anyone to paint their creations.

  • Friday night will focus on classic hip-hop, and on Saturday, modern European artists such as Promoe, Peezay Max and Flowdan will be appearing. "I'm pleased that the National Theater can provide a forum for conversation and a legal avenue for Swedish graffiti artists to paint freely," remarked Holago. The National Theater of Sweden is a popular movement which operates a touring national stage that involves some 230 different venues that organize, arrange, produce and develop stage art performances.

  • Among international artists, writers, commentators and researchers at the event in Stockholm will be Adam Mansbach from the United States, who currently serves as New Voices Professor of Fiction at Rutgers University, author of novels The End of the Jews, Angry Black White Boy, and Shackling Water and formerly with the hip hop magazine, "Stress." Mansbach, a dynamic speaker whose lectures combine elements of spoken-word, hip hop, comedy, and traditional scholarship to address the complexities of identity, hip hop, history, literature, and popular culture will present his talents and the links to hip hop culture and graffiti art.

  • Another US celebrity, graffiti artist TooFly from Queens ( www.tooflynyc.com ), will talk about the shapes inspired by traditional graffiti and also fashion images for which she has become well known on the New York street art scene. Participating in several recent major mural projects, she also heads "Younity," a network of female street artists who organize exhibitions and events.

  • More info on the venue: www.sodrateatern.com / on Riksteatern, the Swedish National Theater: www.riksteatern.se