September 29th, 2021 — NTWRK, North America’s premier livestream shopping platform, announces the return of BEYOND THE STREETS, a two-day virtual art fair focused on graffiti, street art, and more. The fair’s second virtual edition, slated for December 1 & 2, 2021, will once again be curated by Roger Gastman, BEYOND THE STREETS founder and longtime champion of graffiti as a contemporary art form. Cleon Peterson, the LA-based artist whose paintings show clashing figures in a struggle between power and submission, will serve as BEYOND THE STREETS artistic director and will also create exclusive products for BEYOND THE STREETS. 

BEYOND THE STREETS will feature an unprecedented lineup of world-class artists, designers, and brands, including Bert Krak, CB Hoyo, DABSMYLA with Late Lunch, MADSAKI, Mike GIANT, Mister Cartoon, Takashi Murakami, POSE, Shepard Fairey, Spacebrat and Wild Style with Vic Mensa all debuting new work — including paintings, sculptures, limited-edition prints, skate decks, drawings, and more. The fair will launch exclusive products across fine art, collectibles, apparel, and home goods, and offer unique content experiences from around the world throughout the event.

“Bringing Roger Gastman’s renowned in-person event to NTWRK’s virtual sphere last year was a perfect fit for the NTWRK audience,” NTWRK CEO Aaron Levant says. “BEYOND THE STREETS’ appreciation and respect for street culture is palpable; the art is visceral and exciting. It’s a celebration of pop culture, the artists, and their stories—we’re delighted to host this amazing experience again.”

“NTWRK’s global platform provides BEYOND THE STREETS the technology and accessibility to push the culture of graffiti & street art forward to an audience larger than ever before,” says Roger Gastman. This year’s virtual Art Fair will dive deeper into our favorite artist’s worlds and what inspires them with behind-the-scenes content and exclusive artwork drops.”

BEYOND THE STREETS 2020 featured more than 300 exclusive products and over 100 artists and brands, including industry luminaries like FUTURA2000, Felipe Pantone, Guerrilla Girls, Kenny Scharf, Mister Cartoon, Pushead, Shantell Martin, and Shepard Fairey. The festival drew hundreds of thousands of shoppers and led to increased awareness for many artists and product creators. 

Read more in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/arts/design/roger-gastman-beyond-the-streets-art-fair.html

The artist and product lineups for BEYOND THE STREETS’ 2021 will be announced in the coming weeks.

ABOUT CURATOR ROGER GASTMAN

Equal parts historian and disruptor, BEYOND THE STREETS founder and curator Roger Gastman has dedicated his life to educating, entertaining, and solidifying the cultural importance of graffiti as a significant contemporary art form. He curated the inaugural, in-person BEYOND THE STREETS exhibitions in 2018 and 2019, and the fair’s virtual debut on the NTWRK app in 2020. Gastman is the producer of the 2010 Academy Award-nominated film “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” and the co-curator of the first and largest graffiti exhibition, “Art in the Streets,” held in 2011 at the MoCA in Los Angeles.

ABOUT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR CLEON PETERSON

Los Angeles-based artist Cleon Peterson is widely known for his fearless, psycho-social depictions of human nature and authoritarian elements in contemporary society. His monochromatic work, comprising paintings and prints, reflects his distinctive graphic style. Peterson was a contributing artist for the 2019 BEYOND THE STREETS exhibition in Brooklyn, NY. For BEYOND THE STREETS 2021, Peterson is providing his iconic visual designs and creating products for the art fair’s shop.

ABOUT NTWRK

Named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies and Ad Age’s Hottest Brands, NTWRK is the premier North American livestream shopping platform where “entertainment meets e-commerce” (Forbes). Built on a digitally-innovative model of daily product drops, livestream shopping festivals and exclusive partnerships with world-renowned brands and creators, NTWRK has fostered an organic global community of artists and fans since its launch in 2018. Under the motto “Shopping at the Speed of Culture,” NTWRK provides a curated digital shopping experience and access for Gen-Z and millennial consumers.