What started as a subculture on the streets of New York in the 1970s has emerged as a significant art movement in the decades since. Today, street art is often viewed as one the most popular forms of art across the globe. Amongst a number of multitalented artists who emerged with the rise of street art, one of the most popular, yet most mysterious, creatives in the street art circles definitely is Banksy, an English-born graffiti master, activist, filmmaker, and painter, who prefers to remain incognito. He initially garnered fame for his graffiti which combines spray paint and stenciling techniques with commercial, and political imagery, infused with ironic social commentary and humor. His pieces can be found in cities across the globe featuring subjects like rats, apes, policemen, members of the royal family, and children. In addition to his two-dimensional work, Banksy is known for his installation artwork, as well as for his use of copyrighted material and subversion of classic images.

When you make an appearance on The Simpsons and when Black Sabbath asks you to make a promotional poster for their final tour, you’ve already reached a level of fame and popularity that seems almost unrealistic. Shepard Fairey, an icon of the American contemporary art scene, is most famous for his Obey Giant artworks and subsequent Obey series, which have found their place on t-shirts, skateboards, posters, walls, and even clothes, spreading the name of the artist throughout the USA and world, eventually. His pieces are thought-provoking and often controversial. He’s also known for the Obama-regarding posters and copyright infringement lawsuit against Associated Press, which he lost. Nevertheless, Fairey remains one of the most famous artists in the world, whose work will likely inspire generations.

Swoon is known for her instantly recognizable life-sized wheat-paste prints – all hand cut - of highly detailed figures situated on walls and abandoned buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Being an activist and humanitarian, Swoon’s work reflects the social and environmental issues. Her art is inspired by both art historical and folk sources and largely based on the pictures as reference, ranging from German Expressionist wood block prints to Indonesian shadow puppets.

JR is the pseudonym of a French photographer and street artist whose identity is unconfirmed. Describing himself as a photograffeur, he flyposts large black-and-white photographic images in public locations. He states that the street is "the largest art gallery in the world." He started out on the streets of Paris.

There are many artists that hide their true identity in contemporary times, especially in the domain of street art. The reasons for such an action are varied and though most of them manage to keep their names and characters unknown to the world, their work resonates throughout the streets across the globe. Widely known to the public regardless of his hidden identity, Invader puts up iconic installations in cities around the world based on popular 8-bit video games from the 1970s and 80s. Facing both acceptance and denial by the inhabitants of the places he “invades,” Invader keeps his practice going in the service of the townsfolk, providing artwork that can be seen free of ticket fees.

In the late ’80s and early ’90s, the interesting thing was happening on the streets of Jersey City – one artist came up with the idea of stealing advertising posters by unlocking the glass panels at the bus stops and phone booths. He would add his own graphics in acrylic paint on the posters and return them to their natural habitat, making a funny or harsh statement that ad inspired. That creative was no one else but Brian Donnelly, better known as KAWS, an American artist, so skillful in his pranks that no one could ever distinguish his piece from the original ad. Today, KAWS is a well-known graffiti artist, painter, illustrator, sculptor, toymaker, and product designer.

Vhils is the pseudonym of a Portuguese street artist Alexandre Farto, one of the most skilled and talented young artists on the urban art scene today. This internationally acclaimed innovator creates technically skilled portraits on the streets around the world - however, instead of only adding paint or other common street art materials onto surfaces, Vhils also carves, drills, scratches, rips and blasts his images out of architectural walls. Although he became famous thanks to these fascinating chiseled facade portraits^[1], Alexandre Farto has been interacting visually with the urban environments since his days as a graffiti writer in the early 2000s.

Renowned for his monumental black and white paintings of wildlife, ROA is a pseudonym of a Belgian street artist that has been leaving both accidental and intentional viewers in awe for years now. His hand painted, large scale and unique portrayals of rabbits, birds, rats, fish and other animals disquietly cohabit city streets, whilst his more disturbing images of skeletal or dead creatures directly reflect ROA’s pessimistic opinions of society. Although this street artist’s work is definitely a contender when discussing the most famous and recorded urban pieces in recent history, not much is known about this mysterious painter from Ghent who uses this anonymity to make sure both his artwork and spirit remain uncompromised.

Oklahoma-born, Brooklyn-based artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, best known for her “Stop Telling Women to Smile” wheat-paste photograph series, is not afraid to tackle political and social issues in her work. Her in-your-face feminism is at once relatable and visually compelling.

BLU is a talented street artist from Bologna, Italy. He has been active in street style scene since 1999. When he started painting walls he worked with spray paint, but as his appetite for beautifying industrial sites grew, so did his tools. He makes massive murals all over the world. In doing what he loves, BLU tries as much as possible, to emphasize the message he's sending. Art is important, not recognition. A name is nothing in comparison to the artistic value of a painted wall. Many of his murals were never signed, many of them were destroyed by the artist himself, but his integrity is incorruptible. He believes in freedom of information and stands firmly on his system of open source beliefs.

Hebru Brantley, a Bronzeville-native living and working in Chicago, explores personal and cultural memory in his art. Born in 1981, Brantley earned a B.A. in Film from Clark Atlanta University, and has a background in design and media illustration. Taking themes from his 1980’s upbringing, Brantley uses a creative process akin to free-form journaling, using a variety of surfaces and media including wood, spray paint, coffee and tea. His work delves into political and social issues with a conscious focus on playful insight and the optimism and possibilities of youth.

JC Rivera is an American artist, known for his signature ‘Bear Champ’ figure painted all over Chicago. If you see a bear with boxing gloves on the wall of a building in Chicago, it was probably painted by JC Rivera.

For the past 8 years, JC Rivera has done illustrations, paintings, drawings, digital works and murals. Recently, he has started working on vinyl toys and designing shoes, and even refrigerators

Dont Fret is an anonymous American artist from Chicago. He studied photography in college. His murals and wheat pastes are all around the streets of his hometown. He is also one of the most secretive street artists in Chicago, which reminds some of the renowned British artist Banksy. Dont Fret's murals are portraits and clever critiques of everyday life, mixed with nostalgia, humor, loneliness and despair.

Jay Turner was born in a Chicago Suburbs in the 80’s. After graduating from The Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg with a degree in Game Art & Design, he started working on building his career as a package designer and illustrator for about three years. During that time, Turner worked for large brands – he illustrated the gum on the Hubba Bubba wrappers in Russia, for example. After bouncing around between jobs, Jay decided to submerse himself in the Chicago Street Art scene by opening in 2011 Paper Crown Gallery in Arlington Heights with a friend. Paper Crown is an art gallery that focuses on work inspired by street art as well as offering other services relating to the creative world - Contemporary, Urban, & Street Art – Artwork, Toys, Supplies & More! In his gallery, one can check out original and affordable artwork by independent artists, shop one-of-a-kind merchandise, take classes, see shows, and even sip vine while painting…

In 1993, Miss Van started wall painting at the age of 20, initiating the feminine movement in street art. Originating from Toulouse, France, her overtly feminine art was a breath of fresh air in a traditionally masculine movement of urban art. She is known for her instantly recognizable sensual female characters, called poupées. They are more dolls then women, equally angelic and devilish in appearance, with attractive almond-shaped eyes. Over time, Miss Van’s girls have become less cute and more alluring and sexy, with ambiguous facial expressions.

Growing up all over NYC, Indie184 began to participate in the graffiti culture in 2001. She is known for her classic New York simple, yet playful feminine graffiti style infused with exuberant bold colors, bursting with hearts, stars and bubbles. Her works are very often incorporated with imagery and messages. You can find Indie184’s graffiti in the streets from the South Bronx to Oslo.

Growing up in the grim industrial Yorkshire town of Huddersfield, CBloxx, an art school dropout and self-taught street artist, brings an edgy, psychedelic and surrealistic work full of dark imagery. Her images of voodoo characters, phantoms, skulls and skeletons in contrast with the urban landscape create a creepy atmosphere. CBloxx uses hand drawn and cut stencils, spray paint, markers and freehand drawing.

Faith47, a South African graffiti self-taught artist based in Cape Town, is known for her socially engaged murals. The refined style and often lamentable mood of her work is clearly recognizable. Faith47's early work was inspired primarily by the social realities in her country. She was interested in juxtaposing the vast difference between the promises of a better life and the harsh reality of the lives of most South Africans. In later work, the human condition and our relationship to animals and nature are the themes that are more recurring.

Above is an international street artist who chooses to deliberately keep his identity concealed. Above is known for his multitude of different mediums he paints. He is best known for his multiple layer and full color social and political stencils, spinning wooden ‘arrow mobile’ installations, and large witty word play text based mural paintings. Above started traditional graffiti by tagging freight trains in California in 1995. At the age of 19, Above moved to Paris, France where he started painting his trademark arrow icon pointing ‘above.

The often young characters painted by Italian artist Alice Pasquini always evoke some sort of emotion - be it loneliness, nostalgia, intimacy, or a simple mystery left to the viewer to imagine. Also known as AliCè, she developed a unique, instantly recognizable style, through paintings, walls, cultural projects, advertising campaigns, teachings, panels and workshops held around the globe.