Last Saturday I attended the Wall Lords graffiti battle in Chengdu, spending the afternoon watching incredible graffiti murals materialize in front of me. My good friend (and now nationally-known) graffiti artist Gas told me about the event a month ago when Xeme, a well known Hong Kong-based writer visited Chengdu to scout locations for the event. They ended up securing a just-constructed church on the outskirts of Chengdu, in the upscale Luxe Hills housing development complex.

In short: a massive graffiti battle attracting crews and writers from all over China, to paint inside a church on a Saturday afternoon. For Chengdu’s humble street art scene, this is the stuff of dreams. Rather than go on about what a joy the event was (I also had a blast DJ’ing there), I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Chengdu 2011 Wall Lords Graffiti Battle Photos

After arriving at the Luxe Hills gate, it was about a ten minute walk up stairs to get to the church. Outside of the church there were about 10 writers doing their thing and inside is where the competition was held and musicians performed. First the outdoor shots:

Photos from Inside the Graffiti Church

Stepping through the massive doors into the giant church was humbling. On the inside there were over a dozen writers from all over China crafting intricate murals across a 20 meter wide space.

Conclusion

If you weren’t able to attend this event, I hope that the photos give you an idea of what being in attendance was like. It was great to see all kinds of Chengdu citizens, young and old, veteran artists and novices alike, unite to enjoy street art. And Wall Lords selecting Chengdu to host this event can be used as a certain milestone for measuring Chengdu’s cultural development. Overall an outstanding event that I had a blast at.

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