Muhammad Fakhri Ramanda

These days, street art is getting so popular that the public is embracing it like never before. In a recent CNN article, they’ve made the distinction between street art and public art as the former being “rebellious in nature and illegal in practice” while the latter is “commissioned by cities or property owners and is considered culturally enriching and socially acceptable.” Today we take a look at six sites that highlight both. They’re places you can find some of the most wittiest and most beautiful murals in the world as well as some of the most stunning or shocking stencil or graffiti pieces. Whatever you prefer, these stellar, well-curated sites post works that will get your creative juices flowing.

1. Street Art Utopia

Street Art Utopia has a great tagline, “We declare the world as our canvas.” Started by Sweden-based Vidar Egnér, it highlights some of the most awe-inspiring street art around. Receiving over 300,000 visitors to its site each week and with about 700,000 Facebook fans, Street Art Utopia is a major force. They’re great at curating the best of the best, keeping you up-to-date on the biggest names in the street art scene, like Banksy and ROA, as well as introducing you to the newest artists on the block. Each month, they put together a Most Beloved post where they compile all of that month’s posts into one. Check those out if you’re short on time but in need of some quick inspiration.

2. Juxtapoz

While Juxtapoz started out as a lowbrow art and culture magazine, its website has quickly become a hot spot to find some of the most cutting-edge contemporary art today. A significant portion of the art they cover goes beyond pop surrealism, as they consider street/public art and graffiti to be of equal importance. In fact, on their website, you can even find original articles where they list the top works from famous street artists like Brazilian duo Os Gemeos and Banksy. Juxtapoz also has a Pinterest page where you can quickly look through hundreds of street art works at once.

3. StreetArtNews

For your daily dose of inspiration, look no further than StreetArtNews. This site prides itself on finding and reporting on all the latest street art around. From Shepard Fairey’s new screenprint to Blu’s new massive mural, you won’t be disappointed as you scroll through pages and pages of stunning art. The best ways to follow this site is through their Facebook page or through Twitter where they’re constantly updating their streams.

4. Streetsy

Unlike many other sites, Streetsy is a group blog that allows the public, including artists as well as fans, to post their favorite pieces. Started back in 2005 by the well-respected street art site Wooster Collective, Streetsy is run by Brooklyn-based Jake Dobkin, a graffiti photographer, who also posts pictures of his findings on the site. Its popular Flickr group has over 6,000 members who have posted more than 38,000 photos of street art from all over the world.

5. Ekosystem

Ekosystem can be considered a pioneer in the online street art movement. It was started way back in 1999, as a way to give graffiti and street artists some much needed recognition. It has evolved with the times and today it’s a great way to find out about the newest street art piece, hear about the latest news or read an interesting interview concerning the ever-changing movement. On the site, you can sort by latest photos, most loved or by seasonal selection.

6. Street Art London

Whereas all of the street art sites listed in this post cover works from all over the world, Street Art London focuses just on the London scene. Though this site doesn’t put out new content every single day, when it does post, you’ll definitely want to read what they have to say. Recently, Street Art London released its very own iPhone app that helps people locate street art within their city. Its database boasts over 280 locations and you can even filter by specific street artist. The app also has 90 bios so you can learn more about each different artist. If you’re planning a trip to London, make sure to first download this app.