Leake Street Graffiti Tunnel
London has lots of hidden places you may not notice. How many of the 99.2 million people who use London Waterloo every year know that the city’s greatest legal graffiti wall lies just below the railway tracks? Actually I’m not sure whether it’s legal or just tolerated by the authorities.
This is Leake Street, or Banksy Tunnel as it is sometimes called. In May, 2008, renowned street artist Banksy held the first Cans Festival in the Leake Street Tunnel. The play on the famous French film festival was a debut of the works of 29 famous street artists invited personally by Banksy. Six months after the festival the tunnel was made pedestrian only, and it has become a hands-off graffiti area, where artists can show their work without arrest.
The street is about 300 metres long, running under the platforms and tracks of Waterloo station. Eight former railway arches next to the tunnel have been brought back to life to provide a collection of independent restaurants and bars that are intended to capture the essence of urban culture. I don’t know about that, but the smell of marijuana was so strong in the tunnel that I’m sure that I came out the other end in a greater carefree state of mind then when I entered.
Leake Street Graffiti Tunnel
London has lots of hidden places you may not notice. How many of the 99.2 million people who use London Waterloo every year know that the city’s greatest legal graffiti wall lies just below the railway tracks? Actually I’m not sure whether it’s legal or just tolerated by the authorities.
This is Leake Street, or Banksy Tunnel as it is sometimes called. In May, 2008, renowned street artist Banksy held the first Cans Festival in the Leake Street Tunnel. The play on the famous French film festival was a debut of the works of 29 famous street artists invited personally by Banksy. Six months after the festival the tunnel was made pedestrian only, and it has become a hands-off graffiti area, where artists can show their work without arrest.
The street is about 300 metres long, running under the platforms and tracks of Waterloo station. Eight former railway arches next to the tunnel have been brought back to life to provide a collection of independent restaurants and bars that are intended to capture the essence of urban culture. I don’t know about that, but the smell of marijuana was so strong in the tunnel that I’m sure that I came out the other end in a greater carefree state of mind then when I entered.