GERMANY: Graffiti Frankfurt - Oberrad - Backyard Paradise - VIP Hall of Fame - Urban Art Space - FUEGO FATAL

On June 3rd in 2023, the fantastic urban art space BACKYARD PARADISE opened its doors at Buchsteinstraße 30 in the Frankfurt district Oberrad. It is a kind of VIP Hall of Fame with changing works by top-class artists, but at varying intervals and well curated. The inauguration took place with a colorful event, featuring awesome live paintings at the new graffiti gallery.

We talked to organizer JORGE LABRAÑA aka FUEGO FATAL from STUDIO FATAL and STOFF AUS FRANKFURT in an interview about this magnificent new location and the opening. If you understand German, you can listen to the podcast; if not, you can read the transcript of the conversation in English below. Inbetween are photos of works from BACKYARD PARADISE. If you are interested in what you see, hear and read, be sure to check out this place! All contact details are listed in the Infothek at the end of the page.

Listen to <a href="https://hearthis.at/x-wie-raus/backyard-paradise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BACKYARD PARADISE – Graffiti Space – STUDIO FATAL – Jorge Labraña – Opening am 3. Juni – Oberrad – 02.06.2023</a> by<a href="https://hearthis.at/x-wie-raus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">X WIE RAUS</a> on <a href="https://hearthis.at/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hearthis.at</a>

Hello FUEGO, tomorrow the BACKYARD PARADISE will open in Oberrad at Buchsteinstraße 30 with amazing graffiti and live painting by great artists. What is this place all about?

Hello listeners and readers! The people who follow me and what I’m doing know that I’m based at ATELIERFRANKFURT. I feel very comfortable there and I’ve been there for many years. But I’ve always missed having my own location where I can go a little more crazy, and now I’ve found it. It happened pretty quickly and I was lucky, I’m definitely very happy with it. It’s in Oberrad, where I also live. The place is awesome, a really nice backyard where you can do anything. I’m going to turn the whole thing into a VIP Hall of Fame, or rather, I already have, and I’ve invited a lot of cool people. Also three people will be painting live tomorrow, but we’re not revealing who yet. We have a really cool line-up, maybe you’ve seen the flyer.

So from ATLAS to ZORIN, from A to Z, everything is there, lots of cool people. For example OBSKUR87, TOE ONE, REMIKS, VAIL, LF CREW, NEIN385, and BASR from the BORN CREW. Old writers and young ones, oldschoolers and fresh blood, everyone is there and the quality is really awesome. And I also have a small shop where you can find beautiful artwork, cool books, and graffiti accessories for anyone who’s interested. And there’s also a small exhibition space on the premises, and that’s where it will all happen. That’s where our urban art shop will be, where we’ll be displaying and selling lots of unique artworks, i.e. originals. You can also buy works by many different fantastic artists from Frankfurt. That means CITYGHOST, PENG and many more – there are loads of people involved. Our friends from North Rhine-Westphalia are bringing stuff with them, SILE and ROCKER. So there will be plenty to see for anyone interested in graffiti, streetart, urban art and all those kind of arts on the street.

I’ve been following the channels and it’s developing really well so far, with fresh pieces and something new happening every day. PENG recently finished a painting. So you can visit regularly and see new works being created, means interested people can just drop by to have a look?

Yes, that’s true, but it shouldn’t be like a Hall of Fame. Because it’s not a public space, it’s my domain, so to speak, and my business premises. So it is a Hall of Fame, but the way how I understand it and as it used to be. In the past, a Hall of Fame was really a place of quality where you could watch the good people at work. And that’s how you got better yourself! Because in earlier days you had no other options. There was no internet, no books, no TV shows and no YouTube. You had to go where the good people were painting. And that was the Halls of Fame. And that’s how I see my Backyard Paradise.

Above: **RISIKO** – Below Left: **BUD** – Below Right: **SPOT** aka **CITYGHOST**

For me, it’s a paradise, just like I always wanted it to be. And that’s exactly what I’m trying to portray there. So I’m going to show some really serious, extreme graffiti. Interested people should have access to graffiti and be able to watch it. And that’s happening tomorrow at the opening, for example, but there will also be many more live events when the hall gets repainted. But I’d rather do it at intervals, maybe every quarter, every three months, so that people have more time to have a look and to take it all in. The problem with a regular Hall of Fame is that the stuff is gone after a week and you can miss a lot what is happening. Maybe there were some really cool pieces and then you come by and it’s already covered with some trash again. It will be completely different with this place. Here high quality gets created and you can still look at it after a longer while, like even after some weeks or months. And next time there will be high quality pieces presented again, but only after a certain amount of time.

You said that it’s a kind of VIP hall. So, of course, not everyone can paint, and there isn’t something new every day; instead, the works stay there for a while. Can we look forward to more events that you will be holding there in the future?

Yes, that’s definitely something to look forward to. But VIP shouldn’t sound so exclusive. It’s more of a motivation for all the people who are serious about styles and writing. And for all who are really into the subject matter. I want to hear from all of them! They should feel free to contact me and say: „Hey, Fuego, check out my latest pieces. I’d like to paint at your place, do you have a spot for me?“ And they can, that’s possible! But there are only a limited number of slots, so they have to be good and show their best. If 12 to 15 people paint around the walls here, then it’s filled. I’ll be the one to select who gets these spots each time, choosing from among those who offer the best material. So this place should be characterized by high quality.

Above & Below Right: **BAROK** – Below Left: **EMTY**

So this is also for the listeners or readers, the artists and writers, because that’s also a certain motivation to do an artwork at BACKYARD PARADISE.

That’s right. Graffiti has always been very competitive, but also always friendly. People always painted together. They always measured themselves against the hall, they always measured themselves on trains or on walls or on the line. That’s an essential part of graffiti, trying to be better than the next person. That’s the only way the game has developed. Graffiti has evolved because people have learned from each other and tried to outdo each other with ideas, color combinations, styles, and crazy actions. And I just want to bring that back a little bit. It has become a little too shallow for me lately. And I want that to come back, also I want people to get involved and I want to deliver awesome stuff.

Can you tell us a few words about your Urban Art Walks, which take place regularly. I think they’re an interesting introduction for people who are interested in graffiti and streetart but don’t yet have access to it.

Exactly, there are simply a lot of people who are already active in the scene and are players. But there are also a lot of people who are just interested, but they don’t have access yet and don’t know anyone, but they are totally interested. And I think it’s a shame if you deny them access, because then we’re denying ourselves a lot of potential in terms of people who could follow or simply form new generations. I’m also keen to somehow teach older people how to do it, because anyone can do it. And I do the Urban Art Walks for all these things. It’s basically a streetart tour, but in my own way. So that’s why I don’t call it that, I call it an „Urban Art Walk“.

Above: **FUEGO**, **STEN**, **SHOK & BLOK** – Below Left: **SIK** – Below Right: **STEN**

We actually walk through the Frankfurt neighbourhood Ostend and I explain the story of graffiti based on the works we see. I explain the artworks, the protagonists, the motivation, the story behind it. Who is LOOMIT? What was he doing in Frankfurt? Why is this so important internationally? What are tags? What are throw ups? How does it all fit together? And how long has it been around? And what does it all have to do with New York or French cave paintings? And anyway, what does it have to do with society and gentrification? So it’s much more than just showing a bit of graffiti. I provide context and try to convey the story. It’s a very exciting story and I think it needs to be heard. And even if you don’t want to paint, it’s definitely a very interesting two-and-a-half-hour tour that you can experience with me or with my colleagues, depending on who’s doint the tour. And you can really learn a lot about the backgrounds and get new inspirations.

You do this every two weeks or once a month? How often was that? I saw that you can now also book a tour like that if there are several people, right?

Exactly, you can also book it that way. Thanks to the new location, I now have the opportunity to offer all these things on a really regular basis. So the tour will be once a month, every fourth Sunday of the month. And the workshops are the same. So the adult workshop will take place once a month, always on the first Sunday. The girls‘ workshop will take place every second Sunday and the kids‘ workshop every third. And if it works out, I would also like to offer an over 60s course every fourth Sunday, for example. So I already have a lot planned and now I can do this very well in the new location.

Now with the BACKYARD PARADISE you really have enough space and a cool new headquarters!

Yes, that’s right! And it’s definitely worth a visit. You have to see it! There’s nothing like it in Frankfurt yet! Of course, there are lots of nice places, but they’re either too much in the youth center style or too exclusive to everyone else or they’re just some expensive galleries where you don’t want to be. But there hasn’t been a real place where you can just be, drink coffee and look at cool graffiti.

So people can follow you and your news on Instagram or Facebook under FUEGO FATAL or STUDIO FATAL or STOFF AUS FRANKFURT. You have several channels, so it’s worth checking in from time to time. You’ll post all the information there and tomorrow on June 3rd in 2023 the official opening will take place.

That’s right. That’s when it starts! There’s also free water ice for the visitors because it’s very hot. We’ll have something delicious to eat and nice things to drink. Above all, cool stuff to look at, to enjoy and a nice place to stay. I look forward to seeing everyone who comes by! And of course, we keep on going with this place!