Mural hunting and preserving the story of street art

It was a warm summer afternoon in Astoria, Queens, the kind where rush hour turns every street into a slow-moving maze of cars. Cars pressed in from all sides, horns flaring, and I was already running late to meet a friend. I was inching along 43rd Ave near 38th St when something unexpected caught my eye. It was a burst of color breaking through the monotony of traffic. A Phetus mural, bold and impossible to ignore, pulled me away from my route forced me to make a split-second decision. I hesitated, weighing responsibility against instinct, but the choice was clear. I bust a swift U-turn, parked, and stepped out of my car with my phone in hand. I stopped in front of the mural and pulled the trigger, freezing an ephemeral beauty in time. That impulse to chase the fleeting, to capture the moment before it disappears—that’s what makes me a mural hunter.

Reflecting on this moment reminded me of how street art has always been part of my life's narrative. Capturing street art through photography had become second nature, each mural a moment I refused to let fade away. Over the years, my phone filled with snapshots of murals across Jersey City and New York City, eventually leading me to create CANVS—a digital map initially meant just to organize my growing collection.

What started as a personal archive soon blossomed into a vibrant community where mural hunters from around the world connect and share their passion. Through CANVS, I met incredible fellow hunters whose shared enthusiasm continues to inspire and shape the platform's evolution.

But let’s rewind a bit—what exactly is a mural hunter?

Simply put, mural hunters are art lovers drawn to cities and neighborhoods by their love of street art. They're enthusiasts, amateur historians, and makeshift or professional photographers, scouring urban landscapes to discover and document public art. Mural hunting transcends simple sightseeing; it’s about preserving moments and amplifying the ephemeral beauty of street art. It comes out of passion. 

The rise of mural hunting has a storied legacy, pioneered by legendary documentarians like Martha Cooper and James Prigoff, who laid the groundwork by capturing and preserving graffiti and murals through their lenses. Today, mural hunting thrives in our digital age, with hundreds of thousands of posts tagged #streetarthunting, #muralhunter, and similar hashtags. This thriving niche reveals a passionate community eager to capture, share, and celebrate street art.

Types of mural hunters

Among mural hunters, there are distinct types, each driven by different motivations:

• The Shooter: Equipped with professional gear, shooters chase down murals for that perfect, high-quality photograph. They seek visually stunning works that command attention.
• The Historian: These hunters dive deep into context, focusing less on perfect images and more on uncovering the stories, styles, and biographies behind the art and artists.
• The Journalist: They document the broader narrative, capturing interactions, people, and culture surrounding the murals. Their work often accompanies thoughtful articles or compelling storytelling blogs.
• The Unicorn: Rare and treasured, unicorn hunters seamlessly blend photography, deep historical context, and vivid storytelling into their documentation.

Great mural hunters share qualities like sharp photography skills, deep knowledge of the art and artists, the ability to document a diverse range of locations, and an influential presence within the street art community. These qualities are precisely what drive CANVS—to support, showcase, and amplify the best in mural hunting.

Yet, for mural hunters, platforms like Instagram represent both a blessing and a frustration. Instagram connects enthusiasts globally, offering broad exposure, but its ever-changing algorithms and endless stream of unrelated content often bury meaningful posts. We need a dedicated space where mural hunting is central, not just incidental—a community designed to cherish and elevate our passion.

This need led me to create the CANVS app. Unlike fleeting social media posts, CANVS offers a vibrant digital archive of street art from around the world, packaged in a rich and seamless interactive experience. It transforms ephemeral street art into lasting cultural heritage, encouraging exploration, discovery, and appreciation. By mapping and documenting public art, CANVS not only highlights artistic talent but also strengthens community engagement and supports local economies.

Building a community for mural hunters

At CANVS, we’re evolving the mobile app into more than just a map—it’s becoming a home for mural hunters to capture and share their photography while adding rich details that celebrate both the art and the neighborhoods where murals live. By crowdsourcing this knowledge, artists gain more visibility, organizations can better manage their collections, and cities receive valuable insights into the health and condition of their murals. The result is a true multisided platform where art lovers, artists, and businesses can coexist and thrive together—building an ecosystem that makes public art more impactful, connected, and sustainable.

The legacy of mural hunting

As the art of mural hunting evolves, technology promises to reshape how we document and share street art. Emerging platforms and innovative tools will enhance our ability to connect and inspire each other. Street art festivals will continue to flourish, drawing in new hunters eager to capture and share their finds. At CANVS, we're dedicated to capturing and sharing the dynamic, diverse, and continually unfolding story of street art.

As for us mural hunters, we'll continue to chronicle street art's ever-changing legacy. With every captured mural, every shared story, and every mapped location, we create a lasting archive—preserving the heart and soul of our cities for future generations to discover.

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