There’s tons of street art in Brighton. It’s part of the fabric of this uber cool, vibrant English seaside city. One of the most prolific street artists, who’s also my favourite, is Minty. Here’s some of his art, mostly themed around celebrities, stormtroopers, elephants and pigs!
Street Art in Brighton
I love Brighton. This tells you about many of the reasons why. And one of them is all the fabulous street art, which I think is a reason to visit Brighton on its own.
I spent a happy two days last summer tramping the streets and recording photographically some of the street art in Brighton. Some of the pieces I photographed might not still be there. So I hope in capturing them I might have given a longer life to some art that otherwise would have existed only fleetingly.
So while at the time I didn’t think to record all the specific street names that these pieces were found in, I don’t think it matters. I think it’s enough to say that, if you want to soak up a decent quantity of the best street art in Brighton, then devote some time to wandering The Lanes, and The North Laine. In particular, go to Trafalgar Street, Trafalgar Lane and Middle Street, where you can find many of the best pieces.
Minty
And if you do go to those streets, you’ll quickly find that much of the street art in Brighton is by a handful of different artists with very distinct styles.
One of the most prolific who you can’t fail to miss, and my favourite of them all, is Minty. He’s an American artist, originally from urban Detroit, USA, but now living in Brighton.
He likes to place his images around Brighton in the form of ‘paste-ups’, so that they just ‘appear’ overnight. That, he thinks, helps boost the city’s energy.
Street art is technically illegal, so Minty says he’s thankful to live in a city that appreciates art in all its forms.
Minty’s art is very thematic, with recurring images. My photos that make up the rest of this post are ones I took of pieces mostly characterised by including a famous face, and/or elephants, and/or stormtroopers, and/or pigs.
I can make guesses, but I confess I don’t really know what any of it means. I just really like Minty’s bold and distinctive imagery. But I’ll email Minty a link to this blog just in case he feels inclined to provide further insights beyond what’s already on his website. In the meantime, the captions below are just me attempting to say what I see (like in Catchphrase!).
Visiting Brighton: Basic Information
Where is Brighton?: The City of Brighton & Hove is in East Sussex, in South-East England, UK. It was formed in 2001 when Queen Elizabeth II granted the neighbouring towns of Brighton and Hove city status as one city.
Getting there: Frequent trains to Brighton take just under an hour from London Victoria; half an hour from Gatwick Airport; and there’s a direct rail link from the Eurostar terminal at London St Pancras. The VisitBrighton website has more detailed rail information, plus instructions for reaching Brighton easily by road, including when travelling from the nearest ferry terminals on England’s South Coast.
Getting around: Once you get there, Brighton is a city far better done on foot to get the full experience. It’s well served for very central car parks with some, like this one, being bookable in advance.