HOPE N° 1

« Diversity is a hope, not a danger. The stencil is my priesthood. "

Self-taught artist, born in 1971, RAF URBAN grew up in the southern suburbs of Paris. In the 80s, it is under the influence of the urban culture that he evolves in contact with the atmosphere of the street, discovering the graffiti and hip-hop movement which develops in the district of Les Halles, the palisades of the Louvre, the Stalingrad field, where he spends a lot of time immersing himself and drawing inspiration from the creations of the artists of the time.

It is the stencil technique which attracts him, for its efficiency, its repetition, its multiple possibilities, its militant and poetic side, this tool becomes its favorite mode of expression, that he lays since on the walls.

Initiator and supporter of the “Diversity Is Hope” movement, RAF URBAN uses his stencils, from which come colored faces, to spread to the greatest number a message of diversity, hope and tolerance, but also a questioning about our ability to turn towards the other, and live in harmony. His approach is to accept the other and mix our colors, our influences, our stories and our religions.

You can find his work on the walls of many cities around the world: Paris, Turin, Roma, Barcelona, London, New York, Toronto, Montreal ...