Process Invisible, Results Are Visual
Process Invisible, Results Are Visual. New work by Klutch and Ashley Montague plus a poster/sticker installation featuring street artists from around the world.
Now in our 20th year! Since 2002, your old-school website for all things stencils.
Welcome to StencilArchive.org, home for 1000s of photographs, videos, and more. We never datamine user info nor do we use annoying pop ups to make you subscribe. We do not monetize content and we believe in keeping this project free and open.
How can you support this site (beyond submitting pics, videos, exhibit info, etc.)?
- Visit the Stencil Archive Support page to purchase a copy of Stencil Nation, take a tour, or donate to this project.
- Find the Stencil Archives' best original photos on Instagram and flickr.
Here's to 20 more years - Russell
Coolnews picks Stencil Archive "Best of the Cool"
"the internet's largest collection of stencil graffiti images and information"
Well, not really (thanks to Stencil Rev), but it is the largest in the USA!
Check out their blurb
New York City Graffiti Laws
No person shall write, paint or draw any inscription, figure or mark of any type on any public or private building or other structure or any other real or personal property owned, operated or maintained by a public benefit corporation, the city of New York or any agency or instrumentality thereof or by any person, firm, or corporation, or any personal property maintained on a city street or other city-owned property pursuant to a franchise, concession or revocable consent granted by the city, unless the express permission of the owner or operator of the property has been obtained.
Interview with Klutch
K: I was born in Oklahoma and raised by hippie parents. I lost my mom when I was 12. This really affected me, so losing her early in my life has made me focus on living in the moment. After she was gone my dad told me I could do anything I wanted, but that I was also responsible when I fucked up. He wouldn’t be there to bail me out. I still did some crazy shit growing up but knew it was all my ass if I got caught. This sense of urgency about not wasting a single day, self reliance, and a complete lack of respect for all authority figures has shaped my whole life.
Where Wombats Roved, and Aborigines Sketched
By Jane Perlez, New York Times
Dateline: SYDNEY, Australia
Cut a Stencil out of Department Store Clothes Boxes
I was searching for card stock at home today and was having trouble finding anything sufficent. I was digging through my walk in closet and found clothes boxes.  Like the ones JCPennys wraps clothes in at Christmas time. Ha, so anyway I created some sick stencils just using that. If you unhinge the corners and flip em up they act as a cool "tray" and catches unwanted paint from transfering.... I don't know if that really helps but it's one of those items lying around the house that kids could easily access. 
Stencil Art: A Revolutionary Meme
This essay was originally written for Josh MacPhee's Stencil Pirates book. Parts of the text were used in the book's final run, but here it is in its entirety. Note: this is in no way a comprehensive history of stencil art. Hopefully it is the beginning of the artform's history.
"We need to learn how to spread the vision of liberation and life everywhere in humble, small, invisible ways. Like grass slowly growing up through the cracks in the concrete, perhaps our counterinformation can eventually sneak up on the mighty machine and topple it."
- PB Floyd, Slingshot, Summer 2003
"We need to learn how to spread the vision of liberation and life everywhere in humble, small, invisible ways. Like grass slowly growing up through the cracks in the concrete, perhaps our counterinformation can eventually sneak up on the mighty machine and topple it."
- PB Floyd, Slingshot, Summer 2003