Between its 20,000 square meter walls, Five Pointz is a must for graffiti artists visiting New York. A mythical place located in Long Island City in Queens, it is seen as the "Mecca of Graffiti", as all street art lovers could go there and leave their mark. This place has inspired many graffiti places around the world.
Five Pointz, a meeting place for artists
An open-air art museum, a shooting spot, but also a place to party, Five Pointz is the place where street art dominates. It is a place where graffiti and hip-hop are considered as one of many ways to express oneself. Since 2002, Jonathan Cohen, or Mères One, has been running the place like a museum. He distributes the walls to the artists and organises open-air exhibitions. New York, "the city that never sleeps", has cradled hip-hop, so it is logical that Five Pointz is the cultural landmark of hip-hop. It hosts a variety of dancers of all ages on weekends, providing more entertainment for visitors.
The history of Five Pointz
In the early 1990s, a water meter factory was purchased by Jerry Wolkoff who rented the space to artists and allowed them to express themselves on the walls. To discourage vandalism, Pat DeLillo created the "Graffiti Terminators" program. However, it allows artists to paint on official and legal walls to be recognised and accepted by all. Five Pointz is named after the graffiti artists from the five boroughs of New York City who joined together to form one. In other words, all the artists of New York City could go there to paint, but it grew and soon all the international artists were coming to leave their marks.
The disappearance of Five Pointz
The evolution of Long Island City did not spare Five Pointz. Indeed, this magical place, a must for graffiti artists, was destroyed by its owner on the night of November 18th to 19th 2013. Twenty-five years of art were demolished to make way for luxury flats that did not delight the artists. Five Pointz will now be nothing more than souvenir photos, even if the promoter guarantees to keep a wall as a reminder of this fantastic place.
