GRAFFITI WORKSHOP WITH HONEY BEEBS

As part of the new group exhibition “Loneliness and Other False Friends“, URBAN NATION presents a graffiti workshop with Honey Beebs entitled “Each One Teach One”.

Berlin-based graffiti artist Honey Beebs has always been a creative mind. She has been drawing and crafting since childhood. She was influenced by hip-hop culture at a young age, but it wasn’t until 2018 that she picked up a spray can. Honey Beebs is known for her unusual colour schemes, bold styles and eye-catching concepts. Her works are very precisely crafted and have made her one of the few internationally recognised graffiti artists.

The students of the Anna Freud School took part in a workshop with the artist within the program Stadtraum!Plus, which became a very exciting experience for them. The workshop taught graffiti techniques and methods and gave the participants the opportunity to learn how to use a spray can.
According to Honey Beebs, the title “Each One Teach One” is a concept that every hip-hop educator knows and is a basic principle of hip-hop culture. The idea is that we should all feel responsible to pass on the lessons we have learned. This way the skills are passed on from one generation to the next with generosity.

The workshop started with an introduction to graffiti and its history. Honey Beebs explained to the students how graffiti originated in New York in the 1990s, when young people started using spray paint and other materials to paint pictures on buildings and subways. In some parts of the world, graffiti is still illegal. In Germany, there is still a distinction between legal and illegal. In their workshop, Honey Beebs and the students created something legal.

Honey Beebs talked about her experiences and her life as a graffiti artist. She gave Mexico as an example, where graffiti artists are appreciated and even offered refreshments when they are busy spraying walls. She showed the students the basic skills with the spray can and completed part of a mural with them after showing the students what her plan for the whole wall would look like. She first created the basic letters as lines and then condensed the lines into closed shapes. The pupils took turns to design the letters with spray cans and different bright colours. At the end of the workshop, everyone was happy about the result they achieved as a team.

The painted wall can be found on Frobenstraße.