Giulia Riva’s Street Art Odyssey Maps the Rebellious Soul of Paris

Most stabs at Parisian art documentation focus upward—toward gilded museum ceilings and established gallery walls. Giulia "BLocal" Riva's new book "As Seen on the Streets of Paris" deliberately angles its gaze elsewhere, excavating the vibrant underbelly of a city whose artistic pulse beats strong in its overlooked corners and ephemeral surfaces.

Released in November 2024, this visually arresting guide functions as both a meticulous travel companion and a sumptuous art photography collection. The 278-page volume inaugurates Giulia's "As Seen on the Streets of..." series, with additional city editions slated for 2025, including London, Athens, Madrid, Rome, Lisbon, and Berlin. You can find out more about "As Seen on the Streets of Paris" and by it here.

This ambitious project is at once a refresher and a primer on engaging with urban art, presenting over 250 of Paolo Giannotti's photographs alongside firsthand insights from Paris-based street artists. The result is a document that's simultaneously archival and alive—capturing work that, by its very nature, exists in constant dialogue with time, weather, authorities, and competing artists.

Kashink x Invader, Rue de Bagnolet, Paris. Photo by Paolo Giannotti

“Urban art is a vital part of the cities we live in,” Giulia said. “Learning about it transforms the way we experience public space—whether we’re exploring a new destination or seeing our hometown with fresh eyes.”

The book's historical section traces Paris's urban art lineage—from Hungarian photographer George Brassaï's meticulous cataloging of anonymous graffiti in the 1930s through the transformative student uprisings of May '68, where walls became revolutionary canvases. Readers learn how the Stalingrad metro station's vacant lots evolved into Europe's "Hall of Fame" graffiti showcase (1982-1993) and witness the pivotal role of Bando, who visited New York in 1981 and transmitted American graffiti techniques to Paris.

Interviews reveal the gender dynamics within the evolving Parisian scene. "Back in the day in France, there were basically two main trends for female street artists," explains Kashink, one of the featured artists. "On one hand, you had the graffiti writers, who were all about tagging and vandalism, just like the guys. And on the other, there were figurative artists focused on drawing, like Miss Van and Fafi, who specialized in very feminine, girly figures,” she said.

JoBer, Le 17 Pantin, Pantin. Photo by Paolo Giannotti

The contemporary Paris street art landscape emerges through neighborhood portraits. Belleville, with its constantly changing walls, functions as what Giulia describes as a place where "street art is ephemeral and unregulated, making its discovery an adventure of exploration, surprise, and serendipity." In the 13th arrondissement, Jerome Coumet (its longtime mayor) helped transform the area into what the book identifies as "Paris' premier showcase of large-scale murals"—an institutional evolution that presents both opportunities and contradictions for a movement born from rebellion.

The book excels in excavating hidden stories beneath familiar imagery. Take Jérôme Mesnager's "Man in White," a simple yet profound figure first appearing on Parisian walls in 1983 that subsequently evolved into "a global emblem, embodying a universal message of freedom and humanity." Or consider Le CyKlop's ingenious transformation of street posts into Lego or manga-style eyeballs, infusing mundane urban infrastructure with playful fantasy.

Seth, Rue de la Butte aux Cailles and Rue de L'Esperance, Paris. Photo by Paolo Giannotti

Available in two print editions—a premium hardcover art book and a practical A5 paperback travel guide—as well as in ebook form, the publication offers a comprehensive street-level education. Detailed maps pinpoint key locations, while sections dedicated to specific neighborhoods provide both historical context and contemporary significance. 

Giulia's expertise shines throughout. Since establishing her "BLocal" blog in 2011, she has become a respected voice in street art documentation and a media partner for major European festivals. This book crystallizes over a decade of passionate engagement with urban creativity.

“These books are a carefully curated extension of the stories I’ve been sharing on www.blocal-travel.com, offering a deeper dive into graffiti and street art through history, artist interviews, mural stories, and neighborhood guides. They reflect the passion and perspective that have shaped my work over the years,” Giulia said.

The book's timing is particularly significant as street art worldwide navigates tensions between its countercultural origins and increasing institutional acceptance. As Seth observes in the book: "Today, it is no longer necessary to hide or paint in less than 5 minutes in public spaces, and there are many 'free' spaces for expression in the city. This has both democratized and popularized street art, for better or worse."

Various Artists, Spot13, Paris. Photo by Paolo Giannotti

Through interviews and immersive neighborhood profiles, Giulia navigates this complex terrain without resorting to simplistic narratives about authenticity or sellout culture. Instead, she presents Paris's street art ecosystem as a dynamic dialogue between sanctioned and unsanctioned expressions, traditional techniques and innovative approaches, local histories and global influences.

For dedicated urban art enthusiasts, this book functions as a field guide to one of the world's most significant street art capitals. For casual visitors, it provides entry points into a Paris beyond tourist clichés—a city where creativity erupts spontaneously from unexpected surfaces and where political commentary, visual poetry, and technical virtuosity coexist on the same wall.

"As Seen on the Streets of Paris" ultimately succeeds not merely as documentation of art on city surfaces, but as a profound examination of how public space itself functions as contested cultural terrain. In Giulia's hands, street art emerges not as mere decoration or vandalism, but as vital evidence of a city perpetually rewriting its own narrative, one spray can, wheat paste, and stencil at a time.

“I see this book as a way to encourage readers to engage more deeply with urban art—and, in turn, with the public spaces around them,” Giulia said.