How did a region far from New York’s five boroughs become a small, but vibrant chapter in the graffiti story? Located only a few hours away, a small section of Western Mass grew strong roots in the street art scene by upholding to the traditions of graffiti & infusing the illegal street culture with mural installations the city & community can be proud of.
Tracing the path from post office panels getting painted in 1937 to teaching the youth about public health inequality through the use of graffiti aesthetics. Western Mass is slowly embracing the once frowned upon hobby of the misaligned youth. Showcasing murals & different artistic projects by bringing internationally known street artists to interpret the regional heritage that makes up our communities. The history of Western Mass street art came long before the graffiti era blew up.
In the early 1900s artists roamed the streets looking for work to provide a life for themselves & their families. Amongst them was a younger American Impressionist painter named Robert Reid. Born on July 29th, 1862 in Stockbridge, MA, his works primarily centered around the depiction of young women set amongst flowers. (Sounds very weird typing it out this way, but that’s how it’s worded in his Bio). One of his first murals painted was for the Manufactures Building at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Due to his many well-known paintings, the mural in Springfield didn’t make the cut for his biography online, but Springfield’s Classical High School commissioned Mr. Reid in 1910 to paint “The Light of Education” that depicted William Pynchon & the settling of Springfield. This painting is said to have been relocated to Springfield’s Central High School, which I’m an alumni of.
Two funny notes about this, my little brother & sister both went to this school & non of us have ever seen this painting in person. That’s about 12 years & no sighting of the original painting. Other funny note is, there actually is a teacher/counselor there with the same last name, Reid. I doubt they are related, but the chances are actually higher than normal.
Interested in hanging some Western MA art in your home? Check out my listing of paintings (Here)
I digress, the next mural to hit the streets of Springfield was done in almost 40 years later in 1937 by an Italian-born artist, Umberto Romano. Who, with the help of his students, installed a 6 panel mural in the Springfield Main Post Office, which is now the Commonwealth of Massachusetts State Office Building. These panels depict the history of Springfield up to 1936. These panels are special because it was contracted under the Federal Art Project from 1935 - 1943. What’s the Federal Art Project? Well it’s a program that was created under the National Director Holger Cahill to sponsor artists by creating projects for them to work on as a relief measure to the Great Depression. This project helped establish over 100 community art centers throughout the country. It has been recorded by American Heritage that approximately 10,000 artists & craft workers benefitted from this project, providing 400,000 easel paintings, murals, prints, posters, & renderings were produced during the 8 years of the project existence.
The next projects to hit the streets weren’t that of a federal funding idea, but more of a grassroot struggle to preserve cultural identify & empowerment. During the 1970s the rise of AfriCOBRA brought a new wave of artists & creators to come together to support one another in their fight for equality & justice. AfriCOBRA stands for the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists which was a Chicago-based collective formed in 1968. With the help of Nelson Stevens, about 36 murals were created in Springfield that focused on Black identity & empowerment. These murals were most certainly political statements in a post-Civil Rights context. While I’m well aware murals & street art are hardly preserved & almost never last, but of the 36 that were created & installed, only 1 still remains today. Why is that?
The next wave of public art came from the youngest generation who were inspired by the styles coming out of Boston & New York City. The street culture that ran rampant & showed society that there were individuals who wanted to be known & given the ability to showcase their skills & talents. Developing style came from seeing inspiration on freight trains, picture books, & magazines. The youth of that day were developing their own ways of road & building on an activity that many saw as vandalism. From the likes of Simon, Spre, & Task Money, crews like ARE, MDK, & Circle T fueled the passions of kids who love to draw on walls. Graffiti hit Springfield & Western Mass like many other urban communities during those times. Everything was raw & rugged, learning from mistakes made & carving out a path for newer generations of vandals, like myself, to walk along. I think the deep dive history of graffiti in Springfield should be covered when the ability to have conversations with some of the individuals involved is available. Until then, we can touch on the importance of Gasoline Alley & how the graffiti jams provide a legal space for artists to come together & celebrate the game.
Gasoline Alley started as a chill spot for artists to conjugate without fear of being seen by prying eyes. Giving these artists a spot to blackbook & meet at. Now the owner, Joe Sibilia has created & hosted an event in that same alleyway, with the help of their sponsor, The Springfield Cultural Council. Mr. Sibilia is quoted saying the following
“Art is a reflection of the soul. Any time a person can express themselves in art, the soul is nourished. It’s humbling and exciting to witness the energy, creativity, and inspiration when artists gather together to express themselves. It transcends the day-to-day and lifts the spirit. We are honored to host our local artists”
Check out their website here, for more information on events that they host throughout the year. What started as illegal acts of painting, slowly evolved into organizations built on brining life back into our communities.
The creation of organizations built upon the idea of adding color & art back into the community started with the organization called “City Mosaic”. Between 2010 - 2023 City Mosaic created between 40 & 50 murals in the city, with the first one coming during the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival.
Next up came “Fresh Paint Springfield” who created an annual mural festival that happens during the month of June. Due to COVID, the festival had to take a few years off, but in 2022 the festival made a triumph return with the help of an up & coming organization named “Commonwealth Murals”. The Commonwealth Murals Org worked in conjunction with the city government to be able to offer grants for anyone looking to get involved & paint murals in the city. They even offer courses for artists to begin learning the process of a mural project.
They are currently offering the following virtual courses for anyone interested, Designing Murals with Photoshop & Procreate, & The Muralist’s Toolkit: Mural Project Planning from Vision to Execution. While the courses are a tad bit expensive, artists from New England can receive grants to cover the cost of the courses. Applications for the grant have closed as of April 2025, but the classes are still available to anyone looking to get their feet wet & their hands painted. Check out their website here, or click on the underlined words for direct links. I was lucky enough to receive a grant for both classes & I have already signed up for them. Would love to see you there!
I would be remised not to mention the “Beyond Walls” group! Working out of Lynn, MA & having a massive presence in Holyoke, MA, Beyond Walls works with international artists to create some of the largest & most elaborate mural installations to this day. Over 22 installed & running in Holyoke & over 76 in Lynn. From colorful & whimsical to impressive & detailed, murals span large spaces to showcase the amazing talents of people in our community.
I think it’s awesome to see so many organizations & grants available for artists in the New England area. I love to see people getting involved & doing something positive for the community. Being a part of forward change is something I’m proud of & I love when others have the same passion. As a graffiti artist, many people think I love destroying other people’s property, but that’s just not the case. I like to paint & I love for other people to get inspired or pissed at something I made. Putting it out for others to judge is something I enjoy. Even if they don’t like it or think it’s silly, I find it a process that I enjoy undertaking. With that being said, I don’t think we should be teaching the youth the fundamentals to graffiti.
Spray paint is not an exclusive medium for graffiti artists, anyone who is willing to learn the process should enjoy the luxury of using spray paint. I don’t like classes are being taught to teach people the fundamentals to graffiti. I don’t like it for a couple of reasons & you can feel free to disagree. I think for people who are interested in learning how to do graffiti should seek out resources for other applications. What I mean by that is, graffiti artists who do rappel work, don’t go to a class to learn how to spray paint while dangling from the side of a building. They are interested in rock climbing & abseiling before they put those tools to a certain use. The same should be applied to graffiti. I think taking a class to learn how to use spray paint is helpful, but not when they are teaching you how to make bubble letters.
Learn more about Springfield, MA & its rich history as the city of firsts (Here)
If a class is teaching people how to make characters with spray paint, I say go for it! There are a ton of uses for spray paint that aren’t graffiti. That aren’t lettering for that matter, you could learn how to evenly apply a base coat of paint to a wall or an object. That is just my thoughts on the matter & no way should they be taken seriously. I’m an artist with a voice & a brain, I may not think the same as you, but I surely love my city & the artform. Check out some of the cool links provided, be sure to take yourself on a tour of all the wonderful murals in the surrounding cities, & at the end of the day, do what makes you happy.
Peace & Love from the 413
Links used for research
https://www.gasolinealleyfoundation.org/
https://springfieldmuseums.org/exhibitions/nelson-stevens-color-rapping/
https://www.masslive.com/news/2012/05/springfield_light_of_education.html
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Robert_Reid_(American_painter)
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Federal_Arts_Project
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Umberto_Romano_(artist)
https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/Murals%20of%20Springfield,%20Massachusetts
https://springfieldmuseums.org/program/walking-tour-fresh-paint-springfield-murals/
Love Basquiat and his influence on my life
https://sierrahos.substack.com/p/plurality-of-interests?r=599har