Gateway: From Graffiti to Gallery

On September 1, 2026, Mobile Museum of Art (MMoA) will open a new special exhibition, GATEWAY: From Graffiti to Gallery. Featuring 28 significant works from some of the most influential names in contemporary street art, MMoA will serve as the exclusive host venue for this year-long blockbuster event.

This exhibition is presented in collaboration with Masterworks and Level & Co Gallery and is generously sponsored by Lexus of Mobile.

“Any museum would be excited to have a single work on view from any of the artists in this show,” MMoA Executive Director Jon Carfagno said. “We are so excited to bring this spectacular collection of paintings to our region and for how the year-long run will support numerous programs and events that will connect our community with the creative giants on view."

GATEWAY traces the origin and evolution of a movement that transformed global visual culture. The exhibition opens with 1980s New York street art pioneers, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf, whose dynamic, provocative work defined the era's creative energy and brought underground street culture directly into fine art galleries. Building on that foundation, GATEWAY advances to contemporary icons Banksy and KAWS, demonstrating how today's leading street art voices pay homage to and build upon their predecessors.

Together, these five artists have completely redefined how art operates in the modern world — permeating mass media and pop culture through everything from high-profile stage backdrops for Madonna and Jay-Z to global commercial releases like Lego sets, playing cards, and Target apparel.

MMoA will host a robust schedule of public programming to accompany the year-long exhibition. Highlights begin in 2026 with monthly gallery tours led by MMoA Executive Director Jon Carfagno, a graffiti-themed Family Day on October 24, teen mural workshops, and film screenings. Programming continues into 2027 with an art talk featuring Kenny Scharf in the spring and a GATEWAY-themed Art After Dark on July 22, 2027.