It’s certainly no secret that our capital city boasts a pretty impressive public artwork offering. With something intricate, inspiring, gorgeous, or gaudy to gawp at in London at – pretty much – every turn, the city’s street art has become a defining factor of its culture and creativity.
There’s a whole host of striking street art scattered across the city. And whilst some London locales are rather forthright about what they’ve got to offer (yes, we’re looking at you Camden and Shoreditch), some spots are slightly more surreptitious about it. But a new study has recently revealed which London borough is the most underrated of all when it comes to their street art – and the findings might surprise you.
The study in question comes courtesy of the property-pros over at Barratt London. They scoured each and every corner of the capital to uncover the most overlooked locations. And whilst the study confirmed that the aforementioned likes of Camden, Shoreditch, and Brick Lane continue to reign supreme over London’s street art scene, it was also able to point us in the direction of some true hidden gems.
The study analysed over 660 recorded works of art and Google search data. Taking the number of artworks in each borough and comparing it to the overall search demand, the study was able to identify the locations that receive the least attention in relation to amount of artwork they have on display.
The north-west borough of Brent was named the most underrated street art borough – with 8 pieces of public artwork and just 20 monthly searches. Waltham Forest followed closely behind in second place – boasting 58 recorded artworks and just 380 searches. Camden was the most searched for location on the list, with a whopping 17,460 monthly Google searches. And Tower Hamlets topped the charts with the highest number of artworks, boasting an ever-so impressive 197 recorded works of art.
The 5 most underrated London boroughs for street art:
- Brent
- Waltham Forest
- Lewisham
- Lambeth
- Islington
James Holmear, Regional Sales and Marketing Director at Barratt London, said: “The character of a neighbourhood, including its cultural and creative identity, can play an important role in shaping how people experience an area. While locations such as Camden and Shoreditch are well known for their street art, our research shows that boroughs including Brent, Waltham Forest, Bromley and Newham also have thriving collections of public artwork that often fly under the radar. It’s encouraging to see creative communities flourishing across so many parts of the capital, demonstrating that some of London’s most interesting cultural experiences can be found beyond the city’s most established visitor destinations.”
You can peruse Barratt London’s full findings here.
