BY: MELISSA GONZALEZ
“Think outside the box, collapse the box, and take a fucking sharp knife to it.”
― Banksy, Wall and Piece
A diverse group of artists from around the world gather together during one week in order to collapse the box. Its name is POW! WOW!
Pow! is the impact the art has on a person. Wow! is the reaction that the art has on a viewer. It’s an arts festival that celebrates art, music and culture. The main event takes place in the Kaka’ako district of Honolulu, Hawaii during Valentine’s Day week in February. Though now it has expanded to cities located all over the world from Germany to Jamaica.
The event pretty much gives street artists a free space to expand their mind and create captivating murals and installations.
Photo Via: HawaiiMagazine
Photo Via: HawaiiMagazine
Photo by: Brandon Shigeta/HYPEBEAST
Photo by: powwowhawaii.com
Photo by: instagram/bshigeta
One of the artists who goes by the name Hot Tea participated in this year’s event showcasing his art pieces that interact with public spaces non-destructively. He decided to incorporate art this way to stop causing any more pain to his family because of previously being arrested for graffiti.
One of the artists showcases his art pieces that interact with public spaces non-destructively because he doesn’t want to cause any more pain to his family for being arrested for graffiti again.
He says, “I don’t know if I’ll ever have a family of my own but my pieces are an extension of myself. So I’m like leaving a part of me in all the cities that I go to. And seeing other people documenting them and sharing them makes me happy because I know that people all over the world are experiencing my artwork.”
“My pieces are an extension of myself, and sharing them makes me happy because I know that people all over the world are experiencing my artwork.”
His story is just one of the many POW! WOW! artists documented in the film “Heavy Dreamers.” Producer Jeff Hamada and director David Ehrenreich showcase the inspiration and motivations behind their work.
Although there are no details for next year’s POW! WOW! event right now, you can follow them on Twitter or check their website to keep up to date.
In the meantime, check out “Heavy Dreamers” for a behind the scenes look of how street art comes alive.
Sources: fatcap.org, widewalls.ch, hypebeast.com, babooncreation.com, instagram.com, powwowhawaii.com, pbs.org, publicradio.org,
