Sin categorizar

How London’s Dragon Bar became the birthplace of urban art

It was there that the genesis of street art was experienced by artists such as Banksy and Faile.

Click here to read the Spanish version.

Just a few months ago the book ‘The Dragon Bar 1998-2008‘ was released, presented as an ode to this legendary London pub that no longer exists, but which would forever mark the history of urban art.

During its decade of activity, the Dragon Bar‘s influence was not considered anything special. However, as with some internationally renowned artists who reside in our collective memory, after its closure, the venue acquired a certain cult status. It became one of the reference points for underground street art.

This seminal pub in the genesis of street art, located in the central Hoxton neighbourhood, was a melting pot of creative people who came to form a nucleus of irreverent energy fused with countercultural punk philosophy. A narrative that is immortalised in this 300-page book that traces the impact of the venue on the city’s pioneering street artists.

The Dragon Bar 1998-2008

The book is presented as an oral and graphic history featuring interviews with street artists who witnessed all the episodes that took place in that infamous bar. Pioneers of the movement such as Banksy, Faile, INVADER, ELK, Mode 2, EINE, Lucie Flynn, CEPT, Sweet Toof, AIKO and James Jessop. A whole generation that would forever mark the history of urban art through different episodes staged in all its spaces. From the graffitied toilets in the bar, to the parties in the back and the gallery space upstairs.

In fact, both Banksy and Faile and Bäst exhibited for the first time in the UK in this mythical bar that would end up closing its doors in 2008 with a tragic outcome: a mysterious fire that set everything on fire.