The Cans Festival Tunnel

really disappointing. no street art (anymore) just boring name tags.

Every time I go to Leake Street now, a little bit inside me dies.
Since the Cans Festival, the tunnel has been thrown open as a tolerated graffiti zone. Plenty of talented artists have come and done some great pieces down here over the past few months (I’ve seen the photos).
But go down there for yourself, and any new mural will have been covered with crappy little tags that will have taken all of three seconds to do with a tin of white spraypaint.
Yes, I know the whole point is that people can graffiti over murals with their own stuff but does 90% of the stuff that people do here really have to be something as dull and unimaginative as a tiny monocolour tag?

The can’s festival is now a distant memory. yet the spirt of it stil remans in Leake Street.
The main works have now been gone over, but the new ones of non-​celebrty artist are still of a very high standard. Still worth a look.

Still there some 6 months later, this is an excellent bit of FREE London for anyone visiting and a local who hasnt made the journey to see what the fuss is all about. On the weekend, it was mayhem. Like organised respectful, busy mayhem, not a rabble.
People turned up with stencils, got a bit of wall and got painting. There was some great exhibts including a sofa made of sand, but all the work done on the walls remain. Southwark conucil said it would be whitewalled in six months, so this must be the last chance to see it?
Or does a couple of banksy’s work mean it remains until the next Can’s festival? Will can’s festival return next year?

This is a grubby street/​tunnel beneath the train tracks leading out of Waterloo station that’s now completely covered by incredible graffiti street art. It’s end-​to-​end spray-​painted masterpieces. Banksy organised an exhibit here in May 2008, and many others have followed, and continue to contribute new art all the time.
Check out some of the images on Flickr (
), but definitely stop by and see it for real.

Located at Leake Street, just down from Waterloo tube station & (almost) across the rd from the London Eye is pedestrian tunnel that has been taken over by current street art & is ever changing! First came to attention when Banksy held the 1^st ‘Cans Festival’ stated as: A street party of stencil art on the
3^rd, 4^th and 5^th May 2008. It had installations as well as top street artists stencils on show along the walls & throughout the tunnel & was so succesful that it’s stayed open to the public since. Obviously this means it’s also open for anyone to come along & paint up their own stencils /​freehand art at any stage. Cans 2 was organised for the August bank holiday whereby this time around it was for freehand street artists to show their talents, along with burnt out cars painted over. This should still be intact — although things are constantly being repainted over with new art work. Nice & central location for a fix of street art all in the one place!