Cowper Street Mural Wall
The Cowper Street Mural Wall in Shoreditch, London, is a rotating street art location that is whitewashed and repainted with new commissioned artwork every few weeks. Located in an area that dominated England's furniture manufacturing trade until its collapse in the 1980s, the street was named after 18th-century poet William Cowper. Next to the wall stands Xoyo, an 800-capacity nightclub established in 2010 inside a converted former print works.
London Β· from the walk βWalls That Talk: Shoreditch Street Art & Urban Creativityβ Β· Generated
Cowper Street, London EC2A 4AP
- Cowper Street in London was named after William Cowper, an 18th-century poet and translator of Homer.
- Shoreditch dominated England's furniture manufacturing industry for nearly a century before the trade collapsed in the 1980s.
- Artists established studios and galleries around Shoreditch and Brick Lane in the early 1990s after warehouse rents fell.
- The nightclub Xoyo opened adjacent to the Cowper Street Mural Wall in 2010 with an 800-person capacity.
Why does the artwork on London's Cowper Street Mural Wall constantly change?
Take a look at this wall. Whatever's on it right now... did you know it probably wasn't here a month ago? And it almost certainly won't be here next month. Welcome to one of Shoreditch's most coveted mural spots β the Cowper Street wall.
This street is named after William Cowper β pronounced "Cooper" β a renowned eighteenth century poet and translator of Homer. He actually coined the phrase "variety is the spice of life" β and honestly, there's no better motto for what happens on this wall. Variety IS the spice of life here. Every few weeks, the old painting is whitewashed... and a completely new commission takes its place.
Now, to understand Why this wall matters, you need to understand what Shoreditch was before the murals came. This area was once more famous for being the beating heart of England's furniture trade. For almost a century, Shoreditch dominated the industry as the major centre of furniture manufacturing and wholesale selling. Following the industry's demise in the nineteen eighties, many of its buildings were given new life.
The textile and furniture trades collapsed in the nineteen seventies and eighties, leaving behind empty warehouses and derelict factories. Rents fell. Artists moved in. By the early nineteen nineties, the area around Old Street and Brick Lane had become a loose community of studios, squats, and makeshift galleries.
And then came the explosion. What developed in Shoreditch in the nineteen eighties was something different β less about tagging names, more about image-making, political expression, and the deliberate occupation of public space. Banksy's early appearances in the late nineteen nineties demonstrated that street art was more than just vandalism.
Right next to where you're standing is Xoyo β a two-room, eight hundred capacity club that opened in twenty ten, occupying a converted print works. Print works to nightclub to art wall... that's the story of Cowper Street in three acts.
What makes this particular wall special is its Rotating nature. Walls are painted, sprayed, whitewashed and sprayed again. Hoardings are taken down. Pieces are vandalised or hidden under posters. The temporary nature of street art is part of its appeal.
So take a good long look at whatever's here today. Study the colours, the brushwork, the scale. Snap a photo if you like. Because this exact piece... is already living on borrowed time.
Nearby stories
- Old Street Station β Where It All Begins β 180 m
- Blackall Street β Shoreditch's Hidden Alley β 190 m
- Pure Evil Gallery β 270 m
- Rivington Street β Two Banksys Under Glass β 290 m
- Village Underground β Tube Carriages on a Rooftop β 490 m
- New Inn Yard β The UK's Biggest Street Art Mural β 500 m