…immerse yourself without leaving home
By Scott Kendall
I recently came face to face with the Mona Lisa. I also got close and personal with OBEY, BTOY, Bansky, Faith47, and Seth Globepainter, some of the most talented street artists in the world.
What a wonderful experience!
I did it all from the comfort of my home.
I walked through the Louvre, wandered through the Belleville and the Montmartre neighborhoods, and the Vitry Sur Seine, the capital of street art. I was surrounded by popular sites of Paris. What made my tour even more special was the leader. Kasia Klon is a passionate artist and tour leader who brings the art and city alive with her knowledgeable descriptions.
“The most Creative Polish Woman in France”
A native of Poland, Kasia is an accomplished artist who moved to Paris in 2013 after living in Turin, Italy, New York City, and Lodz, Poland. Kasia was named “The most Creative Polish Woman in France” by the Polish expat society of women in France (EmiPolka – Paryski Babiniec). Her knowledge and passion for art and the city of Paris are evident as she walks you through the streets of her adopted home.
Kasia started Street Art Tour Paris in 2014 after following an artist friend to Paris. In 2017, she had the distinction of being one of the few special artists selected to reside in Rivoli 59, the most famous art-after-squat in the heart of Paris.
My wife and I had plans to visit Paris in June of 2020, but unfortunately, we had to cancel because of the pandemic. Among the reservations we had to cancel during our two-week visit to Paris were two street art tours led by Kasia Klon. When I contacted Kasia to let her know we had to cancel, she mentioned that although her in-person tours had all been canceled, she was offering virtual tours to cover the same topics offered in the live tour.
We were excited about this opportunity to keep our date with Kasia and eagerly logged into the virtual tours. We attended From Louvre to Street Art and Murals XXL, two of the many virtual tours offered by Paris Street Art and led by Kasia.
I admit I was not familiar with many of the extremely talented street artists introduced to us by Kasia. I learned a lot about artistic geniuses like Bansky, C215, OBEY, and Seth Globepainter. Always happy to learn new things, I found their work very interesting and thought-provoking, from Banksy’s version of The Raft of The Medusa by Gericault to Enter the Vortex by the talented Seth Globepainter.
Kasia also gave us lots of interesting background on the artists themselves. In addition, she explained the historical and cultural backgrounds of many of the pieces, helping us to understand the times and put the artwork into proper perspective. The majority of the artwork shown were contemporary projects. Still, there were also references to older classics like da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and other well-known pieces of art.
Easy connection
Virtual tours are held via Zoom, with five to ten participants, and lasts about 90-minutes. Once you have signed up for your tour, Street Art Tour Paris will send you a link to join the tour at the designated time. The connection is easy and quick. You will have video access so you can see Kasia and the other tour attendees, and you can easily ask questions verbally or by using the chat feature.
Getting there virtually
To sign up for a virtual tour (or for an in-person tour once they start up again), go to Street Art Tour Paris.
Going there physically
If you can get to Paris in person, pack your bags and sign up for an in-person tour by Kasia at Street Art Tour Paris. But if we are relegated to staying close to home, you can still experience some of the best street art in the world by attending the entertaining and informative virtual tours at Street Art Tour Paris.
About Scott Kendall—Scott is Editor of PlayStayEat as well as a freelance travel writer, photographer, and videographer. In addition to writing for PlayStayEat, Scott has written for EuropeUpClose, Food Wine Travel Magazine, International Living, and others. His work can be seen at PlayStayEat. He is a member of IFWTWA and SATW. Scott can be reached at scottkendalltravels@gmail.com.
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