Exhibition: the ESSENCE

From 10 April 2026, STRAAT presents the ESSENCE, an exhibition exploring the cultural meaning and foundations of graffiti. Core elements of graffiti The exhibition focuses on the core elements of graffiti: names, tags, lines and repetition as the building blocks of a visual system. Line, form, flow and rhythm come together in an autonomous visual language driven by movement and the urge to mark presence. From the underground of New York to the development of the Dutch graffiti scene, the ESSENCE shows how graffiti grew into a global visual language and laid the foundation for contemporary movements such as urban contemporary and street art. Rather than presenting a chronological overview, the exhibition offers a concentrated visual narrative rooted in the past while looking toward the present. For the ESSENCE, STRAAT collaborates with the Dutch Graffiti Library. Within this multi-year partnership, a selection of works from the collection will be permanently presented at the museum. STRAAT provides the international museum context, while the Dutch Graffiti Library contributes more than 35 years of archives, research and collection related to graffiti culture.