In 2023 a massive touring exhibition celebrating “the mark-makers and rule-breakers, the agitators and instigators” arrived in London (Here’s our review). It was called Beyond the Streets and it was phenomenally successful, with good reason. The show completely transformed all 70,000-square-feet (6,500 m2) of Saatchi Gallery into room after room of anything-goes, break-all-the-rules examples of graffiti and street art. Filled with established international artists and local unknowns, that show felt a bit like a graduation: an acknowledgement that this frequently maligned category of art was now both mature enough and established enough to be accepted within the wider art community.
Beyond the Streets was created by art dealer and street art lover Roger Gastman in 2018 and it has now returned to London. While not quite a ten year class reunion, it certainly feels like it. Many familiar faces have returned and everyone’s noticeably a little older, a lot greyer (at least the ones who still have hair), less chaotic and definitely more introspective about the origins and influence of their work. Oh, and they’re monetising the crap out of it. We’ll get to that in a bit.
The first room opens with a powerful statement of intent: a replica train carriage covered in graffiti and a stunning wall display presenting every single page of Subway Art, the infamous 1984 photo book that didn’t just export the concept globally, it became an unofficial how-to guide. Accompanied by dozens of amusing artefacts, including tools that street artists used to access off-limits areas and copies of their police records after they’d been caught doing so, and an entire room that contextualises the invention of aerosol with the proliferation of graffiti, the intro to the show is an engaging origin story of the tagging and street art phenomenon.
After that the focus shifts into themed rooms showcasing how the “post-graffiti” world shaped, and was shaped by, traditional studio art and artists, activism, letterforms, large scale outdoor art and music. Lots of music! Fans of 2 Tone, Hip-Hop and Goldie (yes, that Goldie) will especially love the rooms filled with historical artefacts and archives from those musical genres.
Walking through the show, which has a museum quality attention to curation, history, detail and presentation, I couldn’t help but be reminded that street art as a medium is most frequently left out on the street. It was never intended to be a something you could politely hang on a wall, and indeed the many examples of work on canvas are the points where your interest and attention will likely wane. As with the 2023 show, this exhibition soars when the artists ignore standard white wall gallery conventions and instead recreate environments they are most familiar with, including a working record shop, razor wire fences with surveillance cameras, and installations that make you feel like you’ve accidentally turned down a dodgy corner in Shoreditch and stumbled upon something the council hadn’t yet sent out the cleaners to remove or repaint.
The large, immersive displays are fun and vibrant and radiate energy in ways you simply can’t recreate by spray painting a stretched rectangle of linen. Even the archival photos located throughout the show have more life in them than the selection of framed artworks that are clearly on display not because they are good but because they can be sold. I appreciate that even street artists need to survive financially, but its still frustrating to see the ways in which they must temper their creativity in order to do so. Then again, maybe the moral of this show is that a street artist hasn’t truly made their mark until they’ve licensed their tag to puzzles, tote bags and “my first graffiti” style kids tat?
Thankfully the gift shop is an easily skipped, non-essential part of the experience. I wish I could say the same for the wall text. When ten rooms are filled with dynamic art that you probably haven’t seen anywhere else you’ll understandably be curious to know more. Luckily there’s a lot of explanatory text. Unfortunately far too much of it falls into the trap of using gobbledygook art speak that feels particularly out of place when applied to such a rebellious and nonconformist medium. Then again, maybe that masked kid in the hoodie with a spray can in his hands does actually says things like: “By fusing subculture with system-critical commentary and potent symbolism, they capture the current zeitgeist through an ironic lens.”
Plan your visit
‘Beyond the Streets (London 2026)’ runs from 11 Nov 2026 - 05 May 2027
£24 adults / £16.50 students, seniors or children / Children under 6 free / Family tickets available
Visit Saatchi Gallery (@saatchi_gallery) for more information about the venue and/or to buy tickets.
Visit beyondthestreets.com and follow @beyondthestreetsart on Instagram for more information about the organisation behind the touring show.
FEATURING:
2 Tone, 45rpm, A-ONE, Aida Wilde, Alexis Ross, André Saraiva, BANDO, Barry McGee, Bart Simpson as El Barto, BLADE, BreakBeat Lou - Ultimate Breaks & Beats, C.R. Stecyk III, CAINE 1, Chantal Pinzi, Chrome & Black: DIET, FATSO, TEACH, TIME, TOX, VEXZA, WISE & ZOMBY; Conor Harrington, CRASH, Damien Hirst, David Storey, DEFER, DONDI, Drift, Duncan Weston, ERIC HAZE, Estevan Oriol, FAFI, Fátima de Juan, Felipe Pantone, Freestyle '85, FUTURA 2000, GG The Illustrator, GOLDIE & Metalheadz, GRAND YDS, Guerrilla Girls, Gus Coral, HELCH, Henry Chalfant, Hip Hop Connection Magazine, Hip Hop Polaroids, Fashion Posters & Flyers, History of Spray Paint, Hunt Emerson, HuskMitNavn, Invader, IZ THE WIZ, Janette Beckman, Jenny Holzer, Jerry Dammers, Jill Posener, John "Teflon" Sims, JR, Julio Anaya Cabanding, KAWS, KC Ortiz, Kenny Scharf, LADY PINK, LEE 163rd, Londonz Burning Archive, Lucy Sparrow, Mark & Vaughn Bodē, Martha Cooper, MEAR ONE, MODE2, MOSES TAPS, MR B. & KIX, Nadya Tolokonnikova, Neil Kenlock, NOC 167, Normski, Okuda san Miguel, Ozzie Juarez, Patrick Martinez, Paul Insect, Pauline Black, PHASE 2, PHLEGM, PREF, PRIDE, QUIK, RAMMELLZEE, RAMS, Richard Reyes, RISK, Rocco and his Brothers, Roger Perry, ROIDS, Roy Reed, Rubbish Stuff Puppet Shop, SABER, SCRIBLA, See Red Women's Workshop, Shepard Fairey, SHIRT KING PHADE, SHOK 1, SNAKE 1, STAY HIGH 149, Stephen "Buddha" Leafloor, Subway Art, TAKI 183, TEACH, The Big Issue, Tim Conlon, Timothy Curtis, Todd James, TOX 26, TRACY 168, Trevor Jackson + Donald Christie, TRIPL FURIOUS, Tube Graffiti History, VHILS, WILSONBROTHERS x LWL, ZAKI DEE 163, ZEPHYR.