FREDDYSAM The artwork of Cape Town based street artist FREDDY SAM

Here’s a nice video from Open Walls Baltimore by Caleb Rexford.

Yesterday National Geographic spent the day filming with me,as part of a documentary on South African cultural ambassadors to come out at the end of June.

I started this new mural for them to film.
“We listen to the colours of our city,Peace Love Creativity”

I have been here,for 5 days,I think (My jetlag really hit me)
And everyday seems to get better.
I have not made any art in the last 4 months,not a painting and not even a sketch due to my focus to building /A WORD OF ART and /ANDPEOPLE where I act as a organiser,curator,producer and creative director.
But im not complaining i love to compose situations for other artists,an appreciating audience, and for a greater local culture overall.
South Africa is starving for production,so it needs to be done,The culture is there,in fact the more I travel the more i realise how much we have and how unique and fresh it is.

But as i always say,”we are all artists it just depends on how much you bring it out”
So when Gaia invited me to openwalls Baltimore and sent me a photo of my wall,the artist inside me got as excited as a 5 year old kid ready to bring it all out.
My imagination and vision started to align,a sort of art jazz started to play inside me.
Now I am here working on the biggest wall I ever made,and i am truly very happy and humbled for this life i get to live.

Gaia for openwalls

Adding some colour to my wall
‘Acrylic mountain”

Martha Cooper is a legendary documentary photographer of the early hip hop and graffiti movements,responsible for books such as “hip hop files” and “subway art” which were partly responsible for the explosive boom of the movements,
She is based in NY but was born in Baltimore and in the last years bought a home here,near the neighbourhood from where she was born,I was honoured when she invited me for a tour of her home and gave me a signed photograph and a copy her classic “street play” book.

Exploring the freight train grave yard




Doodles(Bay area USA),Interesni kazki(Kiev Ukraine),Specter (NY USA)

And at the end of great day we had a feast fit for kings :)

The Baltimore Boys

IM GOING TO BALTIMORE!

For:
OPEN WALLS BALTIMORE
http://openwallsbaltimore.com/

From the Curator Gaia
“Open Walls Baltimore is a project that I have been personally co-ordinating with the not for profit Station North and is supported by the PNC foundation and a generous Our Town grant from the NEA. The intention is of course to produce great art on the streets and put on for my city that I love so much. Yet, of course, as every public art project must be, the OWB initiative will hopefully produce more than just spectacular murals. This is about an investment in a neighborhood that is burdened by 150 vacant homes and bridging the gaps between the artist community that calls Station North home and the residents of Greenmount West. Inspired by my experience with both Wynwood Walls in Miami and Living Walls in Atlanta, this initial and very exciting start will hopefully result in a continued support for public art and experimental intervention that can become more holistic as time moves forward. The current line up is as follows: Interesni Kazki, Maya Hayuk, Swoon, Specter, Doodles, Jaz, Ever, Freddy Sam, Mata Ruda, Nanook, MOMO, Vhils, Sten and Lex, Chris Stain, Jetsonorama, Overunder, and others. The website is now live. More to come!!!”

Artist Gaia,and Photos here are by Martha Cooper and info comes via http://blog.vandalog.com/
Follow the project on FB here;

Art and healing network organised a podcast interview with me produced by Britt Bravo.
Its now online:
Taken from there website:http://www.artheals.org/

Listen to it here:
http://www.artheals.org/projects/arts_healing_podcast.html

I was awarded the international art and healing network prize,
This was my interview after receiving the award.:
http://www.artheals.org/ahn-awardee/ricky_lee_gordon.html

Today is beautiful.
I just woke up to receive this news!.

Dear Ricky Lee,

On behalf of the Arts and Healing Network, I am delighted to write and share the news that you have been selected as one of this year’s recipients of the AHN Award. Congratulations!

The four of us at the Arts and Healing Network - Marion Weber, Sandra Hobson, Tristy Taylor and myself - are deeply inspired by your incredible creative vision in the work you are doing with murals, youth, and artists in Capetown. We admire how you are using art within your community to revitalise and transform your neighborhood. We are so impressed that at such a young age, you are so clear about your direction as an artist and we applaud you for your immense talent and leadership.

This year the Arts and Healing Network is giving away three awards to support “the next generation” of healing artists who are between 18 and 35 years old. In addition to yourself, we are also granting awards to Naomi Natale

I was featured on CNN.
I feel super honoured and humbled by this,,,

Read the full article here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/18/world/africa/graffiti-artist-africa/

just released
video of i art soweto project i curated,
more here

Finally got photos of my second portland wall,,

Spent a really good 2 weeks in Portland,I really like Portland :)




“Swimming stars holding poems”,Alberta st,behind the “together gallery”

I spent 1 week in Rochester and 1 week in Brooklyn NY,

Colab with Jaz,Pink cloud ,Rae and Zéh Palito and the community of Malcolm X blvd ,brooklyn NY

Colab with Jaz,bushwick brooklyn NY

Floating poems

Coloboration with Jaz,David Shillinglaw and Two one,Brooklyn NY

Ritual Group Show Brooklyn NY

Rochester NY
Man Woman Child Universe

Commission Detail,
Charcoal and Spraypaint