I love street art.

It’s fluidity, anonymity, anarchism, playfulness.

I’ve always thought that there’s something Buddhist about street art: in order to paint in the city, you have to “let go” of your baby, your own creation. Anyone can come and paint over, destroy, or remove your hard work the next day. But that’s the whole idea and beauty of it—-public space belongs to everyone. 

Social media, especially Instagram, has started a new era in street art world: never has sharing, following, and documenting been easier. Hashtag #streetart has, while I’m typing this, 27,081,696 posts on Instagram. Long gone anonymity and illegality. (Well, we still don’t know who Banksy is.)

As a street art enthusiast, a former street art tour guide (yes, that’s a real job), and an assistant to internationally acknowledged painters, I have become seriously addicted to the culture.

Now, here’s my list of the most witty, funny, political, surreal, and technically eye-catching street artists right now, via Instagram:

“Instagram-O-Matic” by Biancoshock @biancoshock in Belgium:

A post shared by StreetArtNews (@streetartnews) on May 10, 2017 at 11:37am PDT

“Spaces of Hope” by Mehdi Ghadyanloo @mehdighadyanloo in Boston:

A post shared by Mehdi (@mehdighadyanloo) on Dec 30, 2016 at 10:10am PST

“Les Trois Ages” by Borondo in Paris:

A post shared by NiriN (@better_nirin) on Apr 28, 2017 at 9:49am PDT

“Above This” by Rone @r_o_n_e in Melbourne, Australia:

A post shared by Rone (@r_o_n_e) on Apr 25, 2017 at 1:30pm PDT

This latest Mobstr @m.obstr saga in London, England: (See the whole story on his Instagram.)

A post shared by MOBS (@m.obstr) on May 4, 2017 at 6:19am PDT

“Europe’s Greatest Shame #11” by EGS @oldhelsinki in Helsinki:

A post shared by Old Helsinki (@oldhelsinki) on Mar 11, 2017 at 12:39am PST

“Yonge and st Clair” by Phegm @phlegm_art  in Toronto:

A post shared by phlegm (@phlegm_art) on Aug 4, 2016 at 5:50am PDT

“Big Mother” by Stik @stikstudio in London:

The Art Series #1 @stikstudio #london #acton #stik #stikart #bigmother #art #artists #streetart #streetarteverywhere #mural #streetmural #streetphotography #urbanart #urbanjungle

A post shared by Steph Mariaut (@steph_vmm) on May 6, 2017 at 10:41am PDT

“Balancing Act” by Slinkachu @slinkachu_official:

A post shared by Slinkachu (@slinkachu_official) on Apr 10, 2017 at 11:17pm PDT

Oh, and…this latest by @banksy in Dover, England:

A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on May 7, 2017 at 6:40am PDT

Author: Sara Kärpänen
Image: Strevo/Flickr