2022 has had its share of ups and downs for most of it, whether that be on the personal or professional level. As the world adjust to the post-pandemic return to normalcy, we’re all still trying to find our stride. For UP, the downs have been obstacles to overcome, like a paper shortage that delayed the printing of Issue 5 for several months. While the ups for UP include 2022 being our highest year for web-traffic, beating out past years by 10s-of-thousands of new views. So to all our readers, old and new, thank you.
This year we published over 180 new posts on upmag.com, and for us as editors it’s always interesting to see what people are drawn to. Whether that’s socio-political stories that trend, or local business profiles, or in this year’s case people enjoying their 4/20. So blaze one as we start the new year, and as always, thanks for the support!
Rankings are based on page-views and internal analytics.
10. Ashley Miah: Candy for the Culture
Written By Jomani Danielle // Published May 5th, 2022
Jomani Danielle spoke to Ashley Miah, a native New Yorker who uses colorful cartoon characters influenced by everything from bodegas to tarot decks to preserve the pre-gentrification New York culture she loves so much.
9. How Smetsky’s Vividly Coloured Art Fights the Darkness of Reality
Written By Alyona Uvarova // Published June 9th, 2022
Russian-born, Brooklyn-raised artist Smetsky shares the inspiration behind his bright murals, drips, stars, and other street pieces. No stranger to poverty, hustle culture, and online criticism, he is still determined to spread positivity and unify people through art in the face of everyday darkness.
8. The Dove and Her Labor of Love – The Story Behind the Bed Stuy Walls
Written By Alina Perez // Published October 24th, 2022
Artist Miki Mu successfully delivers on creating the first annual mural painting festival aimed at beautifying Bed-Stuy. Adjacent to Stuyvesant Ave, famous for Spike Lee’s annual block parties, the Bed-Stuy Walls festival brings art, music and positive vibes to inspire the local community.
7. City of Kings at Howl!: Renewing the Faith of Graffiti
Written By J. Scott Orr & Photography by Daryl-Ann Saunders with Louise Gasparro & Flint Gennari // Published November 18th, 2022
City of Kings, the new show at Howl! Happening and Howl! Arts/Howl! Archive, is curated by first generation graffiti artist Al Diaz and highlights the history of graffiti from the earliest name tags to today.
6. The Dynamic Street Art Storytelling of Casey Kawaguchi
Written By Emma Riva // Published April 7th, 2022
Emma continues her series on Denver, Colorado street art with Casey Kawaguchi, a Japanese-American multimedia artist whose signature character watchers passers-by all around Denver.
5. Storm Ritter, Queen of the Cool People
Written By Alina Perez // Published November 14th, 2022
Ambidextrous artist Storm Ritter is a surrealist painter who harnesses the power of her synesthetic mind to create esoteric landscapes filled with spiritual symbols of divine magic, tarot cards, and numerology. As an entrepreneur, her business ventures have included a brick-and-mortar store, ecommerce website, custom fashion pieces, jewelry and digital NFTs.
4. Beer Canvas: Collectible Street Art Glassware
Written By Miranda Levingston // Published August 1st, 2022
UP speaks to Brooklyn-based collaborative craft beer brand Beer Canvas about how New York is the perfect place for artists and breweries to work together.
3. Nasrin Sheykhi Draws A Free Future for Iranian Women
Written By Emma Riva // Published October 3rd, 2022
Cartoonist Nasrin Sheykhi, featured in UP5: ICONS, is no stranger to the power that art can have. But in the wake of the brutal murder of Jina (Mahsa) Amini by the Iranian morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly, Sheykhi is finding new ways to use her voice to stand with the woman of her native Iran.
2. The Business of Murals: Emily Strauss & Mural Painter Inc.
Written By Emma Riva & T.K. Mills // Published January 10th, 2022
Emily Strauss, owner and founder of Mural Painter Inc (MPI) talks with the UP Team to explain the companies founding, mission, and future goals.
1. U Get Me So High – 4:20 at La Fleur Cafe
Written By T.K. Mills // Published April 20th, 2022
Dirt Cobain’s latest NYC mural is revealed at Le Fleur Cafe in the East Village, just in time for 4:20.
Happy new year, and thank you for supporting UP!
— T.K. Mills, Emma Riva, and the UP Mag Staff