Graffiti art by itself is fresh. Graffiti art in a gallery setting is dope. And graffiti art in a gallery setting with a historical/cultural/educational theme?

What’s part graffiti competition, part music festival, part skateboard exhibition, part spoken word showcase, and part eco-sustainability fair?

The Life Is Living Festival.

You’ve seen his art. You probably didn’t know it was him.

Maybe it was along Interstate 880 or at Jack London Square in Oakland. Or at Cesar Chavez High School, the Haight or on Post Street in San Francisco. Perhaps you were traveling, in Peru, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Honduras or Honolulu. You might have bought a T-shirt made by his company, Samurai Graphix, or peeped his graphic design work for corporate clients like Sega, MTV, Toyota and Nokia.

From now on motorists using 880 to enter the area will be greeted with a new Welcome to Oakland message in the form of two huge murals, about half the size of a football field, courtesy of a partnership between two prominent local aerosol artists and the Oakland Redevelopment Agency.