They were considered a blight, but now they are a blessing. Graffiti painters have moved from the street to find their place in art galleries and they are making a living out of their creations. In 2008 Tate Modern organized the biggest exhibition of urban artists in the UK and now their works are worth thousands of pounds. Charles Edwards, known in art circles as Pure Evil,says: “When you have celebrities buying art and when it goes into auctions and sell for lots of money then people start to pay attention at it.”

“Money talks”, says Edwards, who runs a gallery in East London that have gathered the works of 50 artists in the last four years. The problem is that most of these artists hide their identity because they want to be protected from authorities, and sometimes Edwards has to turn “detective” to find them.

“I have a network of people who I already know, so it is easy to find out other peoples’ identities and contact them, or I can find them by using Flickr. Most artists publish their work online, so it is possible to do it”.

He highlights Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring as examples of those doing the most inspirational work to transport urban art to the galleries. “The street art boom came because it is a free art movement and there are no rules. It grows because the street is like a huge gallery without curators, so it is relatively free,” says Edwards.

Banksy, the most renowned graffiti artist, has sold his canvases in the main auction houses worldwide. In February 2007 one of his paintings reached £102,000 at Sotheby’s and two months later he doubled that figure, reaching a £288,000 record at Bonhams London.