

Thanksgiving #1 is for Summer Shine and every single person in this chain that made the “leap of yes.” In hindsight, all this sounds easy, but at every step, a “no” would have killed the project. And Texas Commission on the Arts said “yes” to making a matching grant. The evaluators of Creative Waco’s new Arts Match Program said “yes” to a grant for something that had never before been tried in Waco (actually, this was the first time Banksy’s street art had been exhibited in Texas!). Rebekah Hagman of Cultivate 7Twelve said “yes” to hosting an exhibition of street art to include the Banksy piece with outstanding work by local artists. Our thanksgiving story begins a year ago, when Summer Shine of Luna Juice Bar, saw the movie “ Saving Banksy.” Being Summer Shine, she promptly tracked down Brian Greif, the star of that movie, to tell him that “ Haight Street Rat,” the artwork saved in the story, needed to be brought to Waco. His technique became the “go to” method for a generation of iconic street artists, including the infamous (and still technically anonymous) British artist, “ Ba nksy” (of aucti on-shredding renown). “Blek,” born as Xavier Prou, pioneered the use of layered stencil spray-paint techniques to achieve speed, stealth, and artistic vibrancy. We’d like to take a moment to appreciate just what it took to get to this point.

This was a wonderful, culturally defining moment for our city, no matter how you look at it but this particular project is testament to the vision and “leap of yes” of so many people. Last week, “ Blek le Rat,” world-famous Parisian street artist left his mark on Waco by painting six walls in the downtown Cultural District. This year, for Creative Waco and our partners, it comes in a can (several, actually) of spraypaint. Blek le Rat and supporters stand next to one of his street art piece’s in Waco, Texas.įor some, Thanksgiving may come in a can of cranberry sauce.Blek le Rat talks to a crowd of viewers while painting.Blek le Rat uses spray paint and stencils to create his world-famous street art.Blek le Rat creates a tribute to Kurt Kaiser at Apex Coffee Roasters at 324 South 6th Street.
