Words and photos by Streets Dept Lead Contributor Eric Dale.

I recently joined some local artists as they walked through South Philly together putting up stickers and wheatpastes and writing or spray painting the occasional tag. What I initially thought would be a group of three artists just kept growing and growing as more and more folks showed up at the meeting point.

Eventually, nine—yes, nine—street artists and I departed for an evening of art: Praise Dobler, Gloopy Goblin, Mr. Scoot, Spud, the666cat, Fuck A Fuckin Job, Exist, Misprint, and NEEK, a committee member from Anti Flower Show Movement.

There was never a planned route, but we walked around to several established street art spots. All along the way, stickers and tags were going up on signs, poles, and other surfaces. It reinforced for me why stickers are such a popular medium—I could barely get a photo of one in an artist’s hand before it was slapped up and they were moving on to the next spot. This speed really makes for inconspicuous, widespread installation.

The major stop of the evening was in the 9th Street Italian Market, where six of the artists put up wheatpastes simultaneously. Almost as soon as we rolled up to the spot, someone called out “yo, there’s a ladder right here.” So Praise Dobler and NEEK grabbed it from where it was stowed under one of the vendor stands and used it to put a few pieces higher up on the wall. (They then returned the ladder to where they found it.)

Meanwhile, Spud put up a sticker on the door, and Fuck A Fuckin Job created an homage to irregular underneath a pre-existing Joe Boruchow wheatpaste. Amazing!

While he was pasting the upside-down, cigarette-smoking Dobler head and a collaboration with California-based street artist Dunzo, Praise Dobler was, for the third time that evening, I believe, approached by someone on the street. They were excited to see art going up, and told him they’d try to “protect” it from being buffed.

“Damn, I’m getting too recognizable,” Praise Dobler muttered.

We continued around, with artists trying out mops (basically a thick paint marker in a  squeezable bottle), questionable neon colors (looking at you, FAFJ!) and less common surfaces (like plastic barrels, underground pipes, and even a backhoe). Individual artists would get ahead or lag behind, but everyone always maintained a sense of the group so that overall, everyone could stick together. Camaraderie!

I parted ways after another group installation on Broad Street that saw additional wheatpastes from Mr. Scoot, Praise Dobler, and the666cat go up.

But the artists continued on, into the night, spreading their work across the city.