UNLOCK BUREAU

Unlock Bureau produces internationally acclaimed events that bridge graffiti, street art, and contemporary culture. 👈

Since 2016, we have partnered with universities, museums, foundations, and public institutions in America and in more than 30 cities across Europe.

Our flagship event, the Unlock Book Fair, is the leading international gathering for the graffiti publishing scene. We also organize the Tag Conference and the Art & Place Conference, pioneering platforms for research and dialogue in graffiti and street art studies.

In addition to events, we publish specialized titles in collaboration with renowned institutions and publishers. From 2017 to 2024, we operated the Unlock Showcase pop-up bookstore, featuring books and zines from the Unlock Book Fair. We also advise libraries and collectors on acquiring graffiti and street art publications.

Commissions

We collaborate with institutions and organizations on the concept, development, production, and communication of cultural events.

With a decade of experience producing world-leading events, we bring comprehensive expertise in graffiti and street art, an extensive network of contacts across the community, and full credibility in both underground and institutional spheres.

The team

Unlock Bureau is a distributed team of cultural professionals with deep roots in both graffiti and academia, operating from Madrid, New York City, London, Thessaloniki, and Heidelberg.

Founder and director: Javier Abarca (ES). Core team: Edward Birzin (US), Susan Hansen (UK), Orestis Pangalos (GR), Ulrich Blanché (DE), Irene Moratinos (ES), Dumar NovYork (US)

Contact us

Partners

Museums and art venues

Museum of the City of New York (US), Museum for Hamburg History (DE), Historical Museum Saar (DE), Völklinger Hütte UNESCO World Heritage Site (DE), Groninger Museum (NL), Abguss-Museum Munich (DE), Museum aan de A (NL), Museum of Graffiti (US), Institute of Contemporary Arts (UK), Kulturzentrum Schlachthof (DE)

Universities and academic bodies

Hamburg University (DE), University of Lisbon (PT), Complutense University of Madrid (ES), Escuela Nacional de Conservación Restauración y Museografía (MX), Freie Universität Berlin (DE), Graduate School of North American Studies (US), Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia (IT), Catholic Private University Linz (AT), Hanze University (NL), Academie Minerva (NL), HBKsaar Fine Arts University (DE), Saarland University (DE), Escuela de Arte San Telmo (ES), Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (DE), Cluster of Excellence ‘Understanding Written Artefacts’ (DE), Hamburg University Library (DE), Urban Creativity Conference (PT), Urban Creativity Lund (SE), Institute for Contemporary Arts and Media KU Linz (AT), Fine Arts Faculty Library UCM (ES)

Foundations and private funds

WissensART Foundation (DE), Kladmuur Foundation (NL), Villa Albertine (US), BNG Cultuurfonds (NL), Hendrik Muller Fonds (NL), Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds (NL), NP3 (NL), JBS & HSK Foundation (NL)

Public funds and offices

Mondriaan Fonds (NL), German Research Foundation (DE), Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst (NL), DRAC Ministère de la Culture (FR), Chemnitz European Capital of Culture 2025 (DE), Groninger Archieven (NL), Deutsche Bahn (DE), Hamburg Behörde für Kultur und Medien (DE), Hamburg Behörde für Wissenschaft und Forschung (DE), Ajuntament de Barcelona (ES), Diputació Barcelona (ES), Landeshauptstadt München Kulturreferat (DE), Kompetenzteam Kultur- und Kreativwirtschaft Landeshauptstadt München (DE), ÖFG Österreichische Forschungsgemeinschaft (AT), Bischöflichen Fonds zur Förderung der KU Linz (AT), Linz Kultur (AT), Kunstraad Groningen (NL), Fondazione di Modena (IT), Conarte (MX), Stadt Köln (DE), Stadt Köln Bezirksvertretung Ehrenfeld (DE), Buergerstiftung Köln (DE), Ajuntament de València (ES), Diputación de Cáceres (ES), Provincie Groningen (NL), Gemeente Oldambt (NL), Gemeente Gronignen (NL), Linz Tourismus (AT), Comune di Modena (IT), Generalitat de Catalunya (ES), Ville de Besançon (FR), Stadt Herne (DE)

Events and culture venues

Bien Urbain (FR), Eine Stadt Wird Bunt (DE), NuArt Aberdeen (UK), CityLeaks (DE), Museum für Visuelle Dissidenz (DE), Calle Libre (AT), Open Walls Conference (ES), Nau Bostik (ES), Munich Graffiti Library (DE), Moments (ES), Stencibility (EE), Street Art Communication (SK), Lab4 (MX), Fisart (RO), Social Surfaces (UK), DK Delai Kulturu (RU), Kino Achteinhalb (DE), Filmhaus Saarbrücken (DE), Automat (DE), Industry City (US), Nuevo Montacargas (ES), Le Grand Jeu (FR), Urbaner (IT), Amigdala (IT), Ovestlab (IT)