MOS: Meeting of Styles - 20 Years of Getting Up!
Written by Nicole Misfitx
“I grew up right here in South Chicago, and we didn’t have any murals or art. So if I wanted to see something, I had to go to other neighborhoods like Little Village and the Pilsen area up north to see murals,” DTEL said. “When my parents were taking us to go see those murals, I was looking out the window like what is that? … I feel like that was really important, and it got me off a lot of bullshit that was in my neighborhood. My neighborhood was all gang shit in the 90s growing up, it was one block here, one there, there was a different gang on every block. There was nothing really. We had no choices, no options. So I looked at graffiti as another option.” – DTEL
Subways, abandoned buildings, high rises, and city streets globally have been a canvas for graffiti writers and street artists. It’s an outlet that’s brought something meaningful to a community. The International Meeting of Styles [MOS] has become synonymous with graffiti and street art culture since 2002 with locally thrown events in over 40 countries. This includes the U.S., where Chicago celebrated its 20th anniversary MOS event in 2024.
“When traveling with MOS, I’ve experienced firsthand the power of this art and culture to bring people together from all walks of life… through their shared love and passion for hip-hop and graffiti. It’s amazing how, despite our differences, we are all connected by this common thread—the love for this culture. It transcends boundaries and creates a sense of belonging that is truly special,” said Meeting of Styles founder Manuel Gerullis, aka YOURS.
“My neighborhood was all gang shit in the 90s growing up, it was one block here, one there, there was a different gang on every block. There was nothing really. We had no choices, no options. So I looked at graffiti as another option.”
Growing up in Wiesbaden, Germany, YOURS and his friends were instantly hooked on graffiti after discovering the 1982 movie Wild Style by Charlie Ahearn and the book Subway Art by Martha Cooper and Henri Chalfant from 1984.
“At the time, we had a roller skating discotheque called ‘Roll On’ in Wiesbaden, which became the first meeting spot for the emerging hip-hop scene in the Rhine-Main area,” said YOURS. He and his friends began throwing up pieces and bombing trains by ‘87. In the late 80s and early 90s, graffiti writers started hitting metro trains in the Rhine-Main area, putting it on the map next to hot spots like Munich and Dortmund.
After graffiti writing for years, YOURS discovered another passion. “In 1992, after being sentenced for vandalism, I had a moment of clarity: ‘You don’t want my art? Fine, then you’ll get a lot more of it.’ After that, my motivation shifted, I went from being just a writer to becoming more of an activist,” said YOURS.
This shift led him to the local abandoned area of Schlachthof. “Wiesbaden had a growing movement for an alternative culture. While the graffiti scene from the metro area discovered the spot as a place to paint in a relaxed, almost legal atmosphere, the broader cultural movement squatted the main building, put a lock on the door, and founded an alternative cultural center,” said YOURS.
He was planning a hip-hop festival at the site when the city announced plans to demolish and turn it into a parking lot. Wanting to stop the demolition and preserve the creative space, YOURS brought together graffiti artists from all over Europe to add new layers of life to the spot in an event titled the Wall Street Meeting [WSM].
It was a major success and continued year after year, growing bigger with more international artists joining. “By 2000, we had around 400 artists from nearly every continent and country,” said YOURS.
In 2002 the site was unfortunately demolished, however, the community presence of WSM was strongly established and globally, people began requesting to do the event in their towns. Their feelings, YOURS stated, were “graffiti is being criminalized, and we want to show the public and officials that it’s a serious art form. Let’s bring the WSM to my city!”
He felt the WSM name was deeply tied to the legendary Schlachthof grounds, so he came up with the name “Meeting of Styles.” MOS started in eight cities and countries across Europe. The event expanded to the United States in 2003 when YOURS met CERN YMI from New York and ZORE from Chicago in 2004.
“Chicago’s MOS has always had its own unique vibe. ZORE and SB crew were the ones who brought it over, and despite the challenges, like a lack of support and sponsorships, they still managed to organize some truly impressive events,” said YOURS.
The MOS Chicago’s past organizer, DEMON, and recent organizer, DTEL, gave some insight into the history of the international event in Chicago.
If you know anything about Chicago graffiti, you know the city hates it; the buff program seems almost instant, the still-in-effect 1996 spray paint sale ban in city limits, harsh punishments, etc. Breaking the mold and getting permission walls was a challenge for the local MOS organizers. “We had to get the permission of the aldermen. We put out flyers and the alderman saw the flyer and freaked out. She thought that it was going to be like the Taste of Chicago and 10,000 people were going to show up. So she canceled it,” said DEMON, who has been in the graffiti and hip-hop scene since the 80s in Chicago. ZORE, DEMON, NYKE, SB Crew and many others were dedicated to making MOS Chicago a full weekend spotlighting the graffiti and hip-hop community and the positivity it brings to local communities.
Twenty years later, the 2024 event in South Chicago was the biggest yet with 153 artists from 13 countries covering 28,820 sq ft of walls; buffed in preparation by the MOS team. This huge event included the historic Mexican Independence Day Parade, a lowrider car show, a pop-up DJ truck, and more.
Their intention was to create a movement and bring art to the community. “We were trying to figure out how to make that shift from street stuff, the illegal stuff, to art with a message. We would write a message like ‘increase the peace.’ For example, for the first one, we did “community unity” and we spelled it out in English and Spanish. We had a rainbow of colors, to make it bright and more inviting,” said DTEL. Once people saw the messages and vibrancy of the art being far from the assumptions and stereotypes they had about graffiti, the ball was rolling for more. “That year we started, we ended up painting 13 walls in South Chicago. So it went from being dirty and dark to bright and exciting,” said DTEL.
DTEL’s drive to get art on the walls of South Chicago comes from his life experiences and the outlet he found in graffiti, which is similar to the experiences of many writers here. “I grew up right here in South Chicago, and we didn’t have any murals or art. So if I wanted to see something, I had to go to other neighborhoods like Little Village and the Pilsen area up north to see murals,” said DTEL. “When my parents were taking us to go see those murals, I was looking out the window like what is that? … I feel like that was really important, and it got me off a lot of bullshit that was in my neighborhood. My neighborhood was all gang shit in the 90s growing up, it was one block here, one there. There was a different gang on every block. There was nothing really. We had no choices, no options. So I looked at graffiti as another option.”
Amongst the MOS pieces this year, one mural left untouched amongst the MOS pieces this year. “This mural is done by the CISA Crew from Northwest Indiana, Crazy in Style Artists. We’ve had this for three or four years now, and we left it up because this is the first piece of art that made it into the newspaper. Instead of something negative being in a paper for South Chicago, it was something positive that we did. So we just left that as a reminder of our struggles and where we’ve been,” said DTEL.
The heart of the community is what sets Chicago MOS apart from other places. “I think what makes this event different is that we try to take care of everybody. The car clubs got together and fed everybody over 500 tacos. McDonald’s donated 150 meals on Sunday. We had a coffee shop that donated iced coffee for all the artists in the morning. We had a pizza place that donated six pizzas in the evening. We also gave away shirts; we printed a bunch of shirts out, sold half, and gave away half. We had a pallet of water donated, so we were handing out water throughout the week. So I try to make it a block party or a backyard party. You can just come over here. You don’t have to bring anything,” said DTEL.
Also, unique to Chicago’s MOS is the connection to cultures through the city. “We have one of the oldest Mexican Independence Day parades, and it happens every year in September. That weekend just happened to line up with our MOS event,” said DTEL. This also gave an invitation to a larger audience to come visit who may not be familiar with graffiti and street art. “Older Mexican families might be a little spooked because they don’t know what’s going on. They just see people with spray cans and music, and they don’t know if they’re welcome. But, I always say everybody’s welcome to check it out and have an experience,” said DTEL.
Similar to his own experiences growing up and graffiti sparking an outlet and focus in his life, this event has grown to expand people’s minds and change perspectives.
MOS events are in over 40 countries and continuing to expand, such as with MOS Jamaica, which happened for the first time in 2024. As for what’s next, YOURS has big ambitions for the MOS organization. “We are working toward the foundation of the European Hip-Hop Museum, aimed at preserving the history of our culture. The museum will document the origins of hip-hop in the U.S. from the 70s through the golden era and its journey to Europe, more specifically, its evolution in Germany. We are currently in leading talks with the city, and if all goes well, we hope to make this vision a reality in the next few years. The goal is to create a space where the stories, struggles, and triumphs of our culture are honored and shared with the next generation. Therefore, we are on the lookout for partners, sponsors, and investors to make this vision become reality,” said YOURS.
“When I got involved in hip-hop Culture as a teenager, I never thought it would take me around the world. Life can only be lived forward and understood backward. In hindsight, everything makes sense,”
From bombing trains in Germany to a worldwide organization for graffiti culture, YOURS never expected where this passion would take him. “When I got involved in hip-hop Culture as a teenager, I never thought it would take me around the world, and I’d become part of a global community and network. Life can only be lived forward and understood backward. In hindsight, everything makes sense,” he shared as a final reflection.
To see more photos from the original WSM in Germany, check out the book “Wall Street Meeting ‘Destroy and Rebuild,’” available online at the MOS shop.
Thank you to those who provided pictures, including Voyager.
Nicole Misfitx is a writer and photographer passionate about documenting art, graffiti, and street art in Chicago. Her love of writing led her to receive a degree in Creative Writing and Journalism from schooling at Columbia College Chicago and SNHU. She then combined her love of documenting art, photography, and writing to showcase various art, artists, and important social topics. Her drive for writing is to give exposure to lesser-known artists and the overall street art and graffiti scene in Chicago. In addition, she enjoys nature, travel, movies, all things spooky, and fashion.