Tagging the past

Take a trip through time and witness the development of an art movement started by youth at the Museum of Graffiti in Wynwood

By Ruben Escobar, Business Manager

Nestled within the literal nooks and crannies of Wynwood’s walls, anyone can follow the creation of a colorful revolution that places an emphasis on self-expression and non-traditional calligraphy. Located within the artistic district the Museum of Graffiti (MoG) is covered in a with modern Graffiti strewn about the warehouse to showcase a timeline of the art’s development.

As visitors walk through the museum, they can witness the progression of graffiti from its origins in the 1960s - there are even preserved fragments of graffiti’s past in the form of used markers, spray paint cans and a subway door.

With the inclusion of historical facts, the museum’s curator Carlos Maer had the intention of not just decorating the walls with colorful graffiti, but to create “a learning experience.” Maer hoped to place an emphasis on educating the community and telling the story from a primary source. “It’s very important in terms of how this story is told in a rather time-efficient manner,” Maer said.

“[Graffiti] was all around my community in the South Bronx in the mid-“70s,” “[The museum] helps this community understand something that was already here before we came because this was an industrial area in Miami,” Maer said. “There already were graffiti practitioners here well before the Wynwood Walls came in and it was this art that gave this community value.”

Currently, there is only room for two exhibitions, according to co-founder and graffiti historian Alan Ket. “We are in a very small warehouse in Wynwood. We would like to have ten times the space, so I could gladly present ten at the same time,” Ket said.

The two exhibits at the museum are proposed to change throughout the year. The MoG housed a collaboration with over seventy graffiti artists worldwide headed by Dave Persue and Wane Cod known as “Wet Paint.” In addition to Persue and Wane’s project, Sandra Fabara, dubbed Lady Pink, created a dark room within the museum fully painted using glow-in the-dark paint and a decorative giant blow-up cat in the corner of the room.

OUR MISSION IS TO EDUCATE NOT JUST THE PUBLIC THAT COMES IN HERE BUT ALSO EDUCATORS, CURATORS, ANYBODY THAT WORKS IN THE ARTS ABOUT THIS ART FORM AS WELL AS TO PRESERVE THIS ART FORM AND TO TELL THE STORIES THAT HAVE NEVER BEEN TOLD.

ALAN KET, CO-FOUNDER

Upon arriving at the age of the modern graffiti art movement at the end of the experience, visitors can find themselves in a gift shop with a variety of books on graffiti, MoG merchandising and limited edition pieces of art, among other items. There is also an online shop accessible through the museum’s website. The online gift shop offers a wider variety of merchandising and do-it-yourself projects to bring the MoG experience to your living room floor.

The staff at the MoG consists entirely of local artists that create a wide variety of art from sculptures to comic book art to the most obvious, graffiti. From curators to tour guides, every staff member has a story to tell and a unique appreciation for the graffiti art movement. While visitors are invited to embark on their self-guided time travel adventure, the museum offers complimentary tours with the entrance fee that is just over $17 while children under 13 years of age enter for free.

The MoG is open all week long from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. - with the exception of Tuesdays - so consider visiting and expect to find a new appreciation for an art form you don’t usually read about in class.