By Irena Choi Stern

Aug. 31, 2016:  Street artists such as England’s Banksy and France’s JR have gained international acclaim for the art they’ve created in public spaces.

Street art has matured to the point that Banksy prints now sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars and are owned by astute art collectors around the world.

This fall, the Bronxville Adult School will offer not one but two classes titled “Walking the Street Art Scene,” led by Marty Merchant, who has made the study and appreciation of local street artists and their work a personal mission. With a background in art history, Merchant has taught art appreciation at high school and college levels as well at the Bronxville Adult School.

“As I had more and more time on my hands as my children got older, I became impressed with the international work of artists,” Merchant said. “It’s a global phenomenon. Spain, England, France and Germany, all have asked street artists to engage with buildings.”

Merchant says New Yorkers live in the place where it all started, and charts a linear evolution from graffiti to street art, describing the latter “as a way to beautify public space or for street artists to make their own commentary on social issues.”

On Saturday morning, September 10, Merchant will lead a Bronxville Adult School tour of the Bushwick Collective in Brooklyn, a six-block area within the Bushwick neighborhood that showcases modern street art by local and internationally prominent artists. The tour will provide background for the street art movement, its aesthetic and its political agendas.

Bronxville’s Jane and Jack Bierwirth went on the tour last year, and brought their friends Mary Jane Marchisotto and Jessica and Noel Jennings.  

"We were fascinated by the quality and creativity of art by artists from all over the world,” Jane Bierwirth said. “Marty was an outstanding tour guide.  We invited three friends from Manhattan who had never been to Bushwick.  We all loved it and want to return.  It is a happening place! "

On Saturday, September 17, Merchant will lead a longer tour of the Lower East Side, where street art has evolved from the simple graffiti of names to the glorification of entire neighborhoods with multi-story murals, many by prominent street artists.

All these, plus classes, are conveniently scheduled weekdays, weeknights and weekends this fall at the Bronxville Adult School.

To find out more about the Bronxville Adult School fall course offerings and to register, go to:  https://www.bronxvilleadultschool.org or contact the office at 914-793-4435.

 Pictured here:    Marty Merchant takes a selfie with Bronxville Adult School students who took the Bushwick tour last year.

Photo by Marty Merchant