"Subway Art": Behind the Scenes of Graffiti

In Ostend, Fort Napoleon is hosting an immersive exhibition that traces the origins of street art by exploring the history, codes, and imagination of graffiti.

While The Crystal Ship has been celebrating urban art in public spaces for the past ten years, the “Subway Art” exhibition takes a trip down memory lane. Rather than examining street art in its most visible and contemporary form, it invites us to return to its origins, a time when this practice was still limited to a small circle of insiders, developing in the shadows of subway tunnels, far from prying eyes. Presented at Fort Napoléon in collaboration with the Alice Gallery, this journey into the origins of an underground art form takes the form of an initiatory experience. “Subway Art is an immersive journey into the imaginary world of graffiti, at the very source of street art mythology. It is an exhibition for families and connoisseurs alike,” emphasizes Raphaël Cruyt, the exhibition’s curator.

In the Footsteps of a Graffiti Artist
Long before it took over city facades, graffiti developed in hidden spaces. This underground dimension permeates the entire tour. From the moment they enter, visitors follow in the footsteps of a graffiti artist imagined by artists Bruno Brunet, Benoît Brasseur, and the Crafteke collective. This character serves as the guiding thread of a journey that explores the evolution of graffiti from the 1960s to the present day. Like a narrative, each stage reveals the richness of a culture born far from galleries and institutions—one that has developed its own vocabulary, references, and modes of transmission. Through tags, lettering, styles, and visual codes, “Subway Art” sheds light on a language that is often observed but rarely explained.

An Experience Not to Be
Missed True to the spirit of graffiti, “Subway Art” prioritizes experience over mere display. An interactive video installation, graffiti inspired by different periods in the history of graffiti, a recreation of an artist’s studio, and even a subway car entirely covered in paintings and tags punctuate the stroll. Further on, a free-expression wall equipped with light-up spray cans invites the public to try their hand at graffiti, while a surprising “graffiti tribunal” explores the debates that have surrounded this practice since its inception. As visitors move through the exhibition, their perspective evolves. What might at first seem like a mere succession of symbols gradually reveals a wealth of graphic, cultural, and symbolic meaning. By tracing this underground history, “Subway Art” reminds us that street art has its roots in a movement that, long before conquering walls around the world, had already invented its own vocabulary.

Not to Be Missed
: “Subway Art”
Through September 30, 2026
, 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. Fort Napoléon
, Vuurtorenweg 13, 8400 Ostend, Belgium

Fort Napoléon: fort-napoleon.ber
The Crystal Ship: thecrystalship.be

© Nick Decombel Photography