ELI5: What Is Street Art?

Street art is creative artwork, like colorful paintings or cool drawings, made on public outdoor surfaces like walls and sidewalks for everyone in the neighborhood to see and enjoy for free.

Imagine your entire city is a giant coloring book, and the neighborhood walls are the pages. Instead of keeping a painting inside a museum or hanging a drawing on a bedroom wall, artists share their imagination with the whole town by putting it right where people walk every single day.

Here are the common types of street art you might spot on a normal day:

• Giant Murals: Huge paintings on the sides of buildings that can show anything from a giant, smiling cat to a beautiful field of flowers.
• Sidewalk Chalk Art: Fun, temporary drawings on the ground that brighten up your walk to the park or school.
• Stickers and Posters: Small, playful pictures glued onto light poles or crosswalk boxes.
• Sculptures and Yarn Bombing: Knitted sweaters wrapped around trees or statues made from everyday objects placed on the sidewalk.

Most importantly, street art is special because it is made for everybody. You do not need to buy a ticket or dress up fancy to look at it; you just have to look around while you walk outside.