THE STREETS WILL
SPEAK IN COLOR
Five decades of public art in New York City.
IN THE STREET
Public Art,
Drawn Where Life Happens
Most art lives behind walls.
This work lives under your feet.
For more than four decades, Hani Shihada has transformed city sidewalks into temporary galleries.
Each piece is drawn by hand, in public, and left to the city to erase.
No permanence.
No protection.
Just a moment shared between the artist, the street, and whoever happens to walk by.
COMMISSIONS
WORK WITH
Hani Shihada
Hani is available for commissioned sidewalk art, public installations, live events, and special projects.
Each piece is created on site, in public, and designed specifically for its environment.
THE PROCESS
Impermanence is the point.
These works are created for the moment.
Drawn directly on sidewalks and streets, they live in public space, exposed to weather, footsteps, and time.
They change. They fade. They eventually disappear.
That impermanence is intentional.
The value isn’t in preservation.
It’s in the shared experience of stopping, noticing, and being present with the work as it exists.
Once it’s gone, what remains is the memory and the record of that moment.
“What appears briefly can still stay with you.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hani Shihada
Hani Shihada is a New York City–based sidewalk artist who has spent more than three decades creating public art directly on the street.
Trained in classical techniques and influenced by the madonnari tradition of Italy, his work brings fine art out of galleries and into everyday life. Using chalk and pastel, Hani draws directly on pavement, transforming sidewalks into temporary spaces for reflection, curiosity, and connection.
His work is created live, in public view, and shaped as much by the environment as by the drawing itself. Weather, time, and the people who pass through become part of the finished piece.
In the PRESS
Features and mentions highlighting Hani’s public sidewalk work.
New York Times
A Masterpiece Good Enough to Walk On
Art Spots
Chalk artist Hani Shihada working on a portrait of Frida Kahlo
The Dusty Rebel
Chalk artist Hani Shihada working on a portrait of Muhammad Ali in Washington Square Park.
Creativity Fuse
Is it art? Sidewalk murals
Street Art NYC
Hani and FIT Students: 60 Artists-60 Pieces
Ruth E. Hendricks
Hani Shihada Sidewalk Artist in NYC
World Vision
Hani Shihada Street Artist NYC
Contact
Inquiries Welcome
Questions, commissions, collaborations, or press. I read every message.
Get In Touch
HaniShihada@gmail.com