United Graffiti Artists (aka UGA) was an early American

graffiti artists Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

collective, founded in 1972 by Hugo Martinez in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. UGA was the first organized group of writers, and the first to promote graffiti as a high art. Martinez, then a student activist at

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

, organized a group of teenagers who had been tagging the subways into a loose collective, formalizing their work and paving the way for commercialization. In September 1973, UGA organized the first ever gallery show of graffiti at the Razor Gallery in

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

. According to authors Cori Anderson and Kevin Jackson, the artists of UGA elevated the profile of

graffiti Graffiti (singular ''graffiti'', or ''graffito'' only in graffiti archeology) is writing or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from simple written "monikers" to elabor ...

, bringing it from the subways and the streets to art galleries and studios. Henry Chalfant, a sculptor from New York City said "United Graffiti Artists (UGA) and Nation of Graffiti Artists (NOGA), marked the first attempts to organize and legitimize writers as artists."Chalfant, H. 1992. “No One Is in Control.” Pp. 4-11 in Vandalism: Research, Prevention and Social Policy, edited by H. H. Christensen , D. R. Johnson , and M. H. Brookes . Portland, OR: Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Early members of UGA included

PHASE 2 Michael Lawrence Marrow (August 2, 1955 – December 12, 2019), known as PHASE 2 and Lonny Wood, was an American aerosol paint artist based in New York City. Mostly active in the 1970s, Phase 2 is generally credited with originating the "bubble ...

SJK 171 SJK 171, Steve the Greek (born c.1957) is a New York City graffiti artist who was active during the late 1960s and 1970s. A native of Washington Heights, he was a founding member of United Graffiti Artists, one of the first professional graffit ...

TAKI 183 TAKI 183 is the "tag" of a Greek-American graffitist who was active during the late 1960s and early 1970s in New York City. The graffitist, whose given name is Demetrios, has never revealed his full name. Biography TAKI 183 was a graffiti tagg ...

, HENRY 161 (Henry Medina), and MIKE 171 (Mike Hughes).

References

American graffiti artists Graffiti crews {{graffiti-stub