Soudabah Moayedi
May 8, 2021
Austin the owner of the art shop Artissin has been providing the local artists with all their tools since 2010 when he moved here from New York. Loving art and seeing a need for good spray paint store in the community he opened the shop Artissin. Since its opening many years ago you can always catch artists in the shop grabbing the supplies they need to make the wonderful works of art we have on the walls of our city.
Artissin is ingrained in the art community as the place to get your spray paint and for budding artist who like graffiti as the place to obtain knowledge from someone they trust. Even the name of the shop is artistic! Artissin means Art is Sin because in the old days art was a crime if you were not a sanctioned artist. Most people have probably drove past it getting into Central Ave of downtown and not even realize it. The outside of the building is unassuming, but it's on the inside that the local artists care about. Along the walls you see rows and rows of spray paint and art hanging on the wall. It has a chill vibe to it that is welcoming to anyone who wants to create.
Artissin also cares for the community and knows art is a way for many kids to stay away from trouble and pour extra energy into something positive. At his old location he use to have meet ups and would hold events. Kids could hang out and paint, be somewhere positive. He wanted to build walls in the community so kids could have a safe place to spray paint and weren’t doing it in places they could get in trouble. Even in his new shop he does what he can to give a fun place to hang out and do art. He hosts anime meet ups, allows local people to do pop ups in his shop, and always has trusted advice for artists.
His big theme is community and giving people the power they need to make their own decisions that control their destiny. He asks that community leaders think about the small people before they give everything to the big developers, because he knows the small mom and pops are what make our area so unique.
We tend to forget how our artists get the tools they need to create these amazing murals we see on our walls. Without Artissin supplying many of them at a decent cost we wouldn’t have some of our favorites. You can find Artissin of Instagram and Facebook and listen to his full interview on our podcast Good Morning St Pete.
