LOS ANGELES — The biggest street art show in Los Angeles kicks off for another year this weekend, but this time, organizers had to make changes because of the pandemic.
Beyond the Streets has shifted to an app, showcasing artists from across the world.
One of the artists who will be featured is Dabsymla, a husband and wife duo as unique as the name.
"Dabsmyla" is a reflection of their days as graffiti artists at home in Australia — a combination of both their graffiti names Dabs and Myla. But these days, it's not just their name that's inseparable.
"We make all of our paintings together. We paint murals together. We make designs together. It's 100% collaboration between the two of us," they explained.
The two met and fell in love in art school 15 years ago. Their journey as artists started with graffiti, drawing on train lines in Melbourne, but it has since evolved to a new painting style in their new downtown Los Angeles home.
They said there is no end where the other picks up. They create paintings simultaneously, sort of like finishing each other's sentences.
Their bright colors mixed in-studio are an integral part of their visuals.
In a typical year, Dabsmyla travels around the world for exhibitions and collaborations. Like most artists, COVID-19 has grounded them for all of 2020.
Fortunately, Beyond the Streets is one of a few exhibits that wasn't canceled. This weekend, Dabsmyla will have an opportunity to showcase a new screenprint they created just for L.A.'s biggest street art festival.
"How a screenprint gets made is there's 14 screens, and in each one, they put the ink on and in each one gets.. I guess what it means is it's made by a person and not a machine," Dabsmyla explained.
The first Beyond the Streets launched in 2018 in downtown L.A. The 2020 edition will look very different.
Roger Gastman is the founder of this event and said paintings, art on cars, and other installations will be showcased. The only thing missing will be the 100,000 people who attended the last art show in person.
Gastman and his team have joined forces with an app called NTWRK that will showcase the artists in all kinds of formats, from formal interviews to painting in person. This time, the 100 plus artists aren't just in L.A., but around the world.
"Everything is an in-app experience on your phone, and every 15 or 30 minutes, a new episode will become available, and that episode will have more video content from artists, like Felipe and product drops that go along with it," Gastman explained.
Felipe Pantone is the creative director behind Beyond the Streets, and he is also a world-renowned visual artist.
"All of the artists have a background in the streets, whether it be graffiti or street art. I did start painting on the streets, graffiti, and I've been doing murals all around the world, and now, I moved toward a more studio-based practice," Pantone said from Barcelona, Spain.
Back at their L.A. studio, Dabsmyla is excited for the opportunity Beyond the Streets presents to educate the public. They said graffiti is a broad and diverse art form that can't fit into one specific category, especially the misconception that it's an eyesore or blight.
"A graffiti writer isn't probably the one leaving garbage on the ground. That garbage is just on the ground. And the person just happened to do graffiti there," they explained.
The event is free and open to the public. Just download the "NTWRK" app where Beyond the Streets will stream from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Saturday, December 5, and Sunday, December 6.