Street Art & Graffiti Quiz

Question 1

Banksy is a famous anonymous street artist. Where is Banksy believed to be from?

Accepted Answer

Bristol, England

Answer

London

Answer

New York

Answer

Paris

Question 2

Jean-Michel Basquiat rose from New York street art to fine art fame in the 1980s. He initially became known under what tag name?

Accepted Answer

SAMO

Answer

TAKI 183

Answer

CORNBREAD

Answer

KAWS

Question 3

Keith Haring began his art career drawing in which New York City location?

Accepted Answer

On the blank black advertising panels in New York subway stations

Answer

On billboards in Times Square

Answer

In Central Park on the pathways

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On fire hydrants throughout Manhattan

Question 4

What is the legal distinction between 'street art' and 'graffiti'?

Accepted Answer

Street art is typically commissioned or tolerated; graffiti is applied without permission — though culturally both terms overlap

Answer

Street art uses spray paint; graffiti uses markers

Answer

Street art always features political imagery; graffiti features only tags and letters

Answer

There is no legal distinction — both are legally defined as vandalism in most jurisdictions

Question 5

Shepard Fairey's 'HOPE' poster became an iconic image from which US presidential campaign?

Accepted Answer

Barack Obama 2008

Answer

Bill Clinton 1992

Answer

George W. Bush 2004

Answer

Bernie Sanders 2016

Question 6

What is 'TAKI 183', considered one of graffiti's founding origin stories?

Accepted Answer

A New York City tagline painted by a teenager named Demetrius whose nickname was TAKI and lived on 183rd Street

Answer

The tag name of a Philadelphia graffiti pioneer who first used spray paint on trains

Answer

A famous mural in the Bronx that inspired the hip-hop movement

Answer

A code used by early New York City graffiti artists for a particular style

Question 7

What is 'wildstyle' in graffiti culture?

Accepted Answer

A highly complex, interlocking lettering style where letters are interwoven and decorated to be difficult to read for non-graffiti writers

Answer

Unsanctioned graffiti painted in the wilderness

Answer

Graffiti painted at extreme heights on buildings or bridges

Answer

A freestyle, no-planning approach to creating graffiti

Question 8

Banksy's famous work showing a girl releasing a red heart-shaped balloon is called what?

Accepted Answer

Girl with Balloon

Answer

Hope Floats

Answer

Love Balloon

Answer

Heart Release

Question 9

Os Gemeos (The Twins) are celebrated street artists from which country?

Accepted Answer

Brazil

Answer

Portugal

Answer

Spain

Answer

Mexico

Question 10

What is 'yarn bombing' (also called guerrilla knitting)?

Accepted Answer

A form of street art using colourful yarn or knitted/crocheted coverings applied to public objects like trees, statues, and railings

Answer

Using explosive paint canisters for large-scale murals

Answer

A protest art form using flammable materials

Answer

A technique of using compressed yarn fibres to create textured murals

Question 11

The East Side Gallery in Berlin is a famous outdoor gallery of what?

Accepted Answer

Art painted directly on a surviving 1.3km section of the Berlin Wall by international artists after German reunification

Answer

Commissioned sculptures along the East Berlin waterfront

Answer

A gallery of graffiti from East German dissident artists during the communist era

Answer

A series of glass-fronted exhibition spaces in former East Berlin

Question 12

What is 'wheatpasting' (also called wheatpaste) in street art?

Accepted Answer

Applying paper-based artwork (posters, prints) to walls using a flour-and-water adhesive paste — a cheaper and faster method than spray paint

Answer

Using wheat grain in street art pigments for an organic look

Answer

A type of textured mural using recycled food materials

Answer

A stencilling technique using wheat grain patterns

Question 13

Invader is a French street artist who makes art from what material?

Accepted Answer

Ceramic mosaic tiles arranged into Space Invader-inspired pixel art

Answer

Discarded circuit boards arranged into mosaics

Answer

Melted plastic waste

Answer

Broken mirror pieces

Question 14

What is 'anamorphic street art'?

Accepted Answer

3D street art or optical illusions drawn on flat surfaces that appear three-dimensional when viewed from a specific angle

Answer

Street art that changes colour in different weather conditions

Answer

Art made from natural materials that degrade over time

Answer

Street art that can only be seen in ultraviolet light

Question 15

Futura 2000 is a pioneer of which type of graffiti style that moved away from lettering toward abstract forms?

Accepted Answer

Abstract graffiti — non-representational, non-lettering based street art inspired by abstract expressionism

Answer

Character art — large cartoonish characters

Answer

Stencil-based political street art

Answer

Photorealistic portrait murals

Question 16

The term 'KAWS' refers to which internationally celebrated street-art-turned-fine-art figure?

Accepted Answer

Brian Donnelly — an American artist known for his XX-eyed cartoon characters who progressed from graffiti to toys to major gallery exhibitions

Answer

A graffiti crew from Los Angeles

Answer

A Japanese street art collective

Answer

The artist name of Shepard Fairey

Question 17

What did Banksy's 'Exit Through the Gift Shop' (2010) claim to be, and why was it controversial?

Accepted Answer

A documentary about street art, but widely believed to be a mockumentary or hoax involving a fictional character named Mr. Brainwash

Answer

A legitimate art heist documentary

Answer

A secretly funded advertising campaign for a gallery

Answer

A competition to find unknown street artists

Question 18

What is 'Spraycan Art' and when did it emerge as a recognised art form?

Accepted Answer

The specific New York graffiti movement of the 1970s–80s, with the aerosol spray can as its primary medium, formally recognised after publications like Henry Chalfant and Martha Cooper's 'Subway Art' (1984)

Answer

Any art using spray cans — a category dating to the invention of aerosol paint in 1949

Answer

A contemporary fine art movement using spray techniques

Answer

A Banksy-coined term for spray-can street art

Question 19

What is a 'throwie' in graffiti culture?

Accepted Answer

A quick, simple graffiti consisting of a bubble-letter name outline with fill — done fast with minimal risk of being caught

Answer

A graffiti writer who is caught and prosecuted

Answer

A large-scale mural painted on a building

Answer

A graffiti tag left in an extremely dangerous or high-visibility location

Question 20

Which city is considered the most important hub of street art today, with legal walls and a rich tradition?

Accepted Answer

There is no single city — multiple cities including Berlin, São Paulo, London, and Los Angeles all have strong claims

Answer

New York City

Answer

Los Angeles

Answer

Melbourne, Australia