In 2022, Secret Walls toured the United States with its “Support Your Local Artist” Tour, visiting 30 markets in 60 days.
“It was like a rock ‘n’ roll bus tour,” stated Kevin Collins, the three-year CEO of Secret Walls. “We would battle and drive overnight to the next city. It was one of those post-pandemic moments. We wanted to go everywhere and remind people what we do. But what we learned is that we want to stay longer in each city.”
Secret Walls produces competitive live art events. It began in 2006 in bars and warehouses in Shoreditch, East London, and over the past 18 years the Secret Walls Universe has hosted 2,000 battles in more than 100 cities in 50 countries. The featured contemporary artist performers include graffiti writers, muralists, illustrators, cartoonists and digital artists.
The current “Art of Competition” Tour, which kicked off at SRGN Studios aka The Shoe Surgeon in DTLA on Sept. 27, will travel to 13 markets and remain in each one for two to three days, immersing itself in the local scene. Each stop will present more than just a battle night. An elevated dinner and workshop are also on the calendar.
The night before the tour kicked off in DTLA, Secret Walls HQ campus in Koreatown hosted a “Secret Walls Academy” workshop in which local muralist, artist and designer Vmr.3 led guests in customizing white Vans shoes that the company donated for the event.
Each tour stop showcases local heroes of the underground art scene.
“Our goal is to plug local artists and authentically bring talent forward that represents the city, market or moment in time,” Collins said. “We want to bring forward artists that see the opportunity as a stepping stone in their career. We are considerate and thoughtful when we put talent on the stage: Who’s next? We want to be a bridge for more opportunities and for more visibility.”
At the Los Angeles kick-off event, the featured artists were Dreyfus, Blue the Great, Hannah Eddy, Bakeneko, Wotto and Emily Ding. They were divided into teams; provided POSCA paint markers, paint brushes, spray paint and paint rollers; and then pointed toward a giant wall as their canvas to complete their piece in 90 minutes.
All of the talent, from the DJ to the host to the judges, are connected to the creative art or music scene from the local community. LA’s tour host was Nick Major of “The Spout Podcast,” DJ Olea created the soundscape, and Ric Edwards of LA28 and contemporary artist Brett Crawford were the judges.
In 2011, while living in the UK, Collins attended a Secret Walls battle, met the founder, Terry Guy, and fell in love with the scene. He spent the next 10 years partnering with Guy and supporting Secret Walls with brand partnerships. Collins, having spent the majority of his career in the creative agency world and experiential sports culture entertainment marketing space, shifted to full-time in 2021 to, in his own words, “grow Secret Walls into its next horizon point.”
Collins’ role as CEO combines his interest in art — he was always a doodler — with his love of sports — he played collegiate basketball. One summer, he interned at SFX (which became Clear Channel and then turned into Live Nation) and worked at 30 concerts. His love of art and sports collided with a newfound affinity for live experiences.
“I’m a huge fan of music and contemporary visual arts,” stated Collins. “I’m able to take what I’m good at and reapply it to the world of Secret Walls. It’s a fascinating universe.”
According to Collins, the cons of producing live experiences are their susceptibility to variables such as weather, time of year and election cycles. Another obstacle is socioeconomic. Secret Walls tries to be thoughtful about access points into live art, which is why it does not just present priced ticketed events. It also hosts workshops and academy sessions on the tour and at its HQ, which houses a mural yard and presents community-led initiatives and weekly programming such as comedy shows and music concerts.
The pros for fans include watching their favorite creators freestyle.
“It is like being at the chef’s table, watching the ingredients and the recipe come together,” Collins shared. “It’s a visceral experience.
“It’s hard to judge art. The tie breaker is a decibel reader; a crowd vote. The crowd screams as loud as it can.”
On the night of the DTLA event, a sold-out crowd of 600 to 700 people applauded as Team W.E.B., aka Wotto, Emily Ding and Blue the Great, were crowned winners.
“Awesome night, amazing crowd, art in abundance, great people, great team, and all-around good vibes!” exclaimed winning team captain Wotto.
Future stops on the multi-city tour include Denver, Phoenix, Columbus, Cincinnati, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Fort Worth and San Antonio.
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