Post No Bills

Curator Profile 

Ric Blackshaw has spent more than two decades championing the kind of art that refuses to sit quietly. As an arts writer, gallerist, curator and print publisher, he has consistently celebrated creators who draw inspiration from the visual languages of the street — music, sampling, comics, graffiti, graphic design, illustration — and who view creativity as a rule-breaking act.

He first made his mark with the influential books Scrawl (1999) and Scrawl Too (2001), documenting the rise of dirty graphics, strange characters and street-level visual culture. From there he founded Scrawl Collective, a pioneering platform representing some of the most innovative street artists and illustrators in the UK. The collective evolved into a producer of fine-art print editions that brought underground talent into the hands of collectors.

In 2008, Ric launched ‘KIN — a pop-up gallery in the heart of Soho — uniting artists, agencies, designers and musicians under one roof. It became an instant magnet for emerging creatives and a hub of live events, talks and late-night energy, embodying the collaborative chaos that drives new movements in art.

After relocating to Manchester in 2016, Ric re-imagined ‘KIN as a vehicle for curating, writing and publishing — a space to connect established street voices with the next generation of boundary-pushers.

As Curator of Post No Bills, Ric’s role is to guide the project’s creative direction — bringing together artists who thrive on the friction between outlawed expression and fine-art ambition. He ensures the walls we choose, the work we show, and the stories we tell stay true to the rebellious spirit where this culture was born.

Art belongs to the street — Post No Bills reclaims it.