Google Cultural Institute now digitally preserving street art through new section

The Google Cultural Institute is a partnership between hundreds of museums and the Mountain View company, allowing countless works to be preserved digitally. This collection is growing today with the addition of a Street Art section (via TheNextWeb), housing more than 5,000 different images of art from a variety of locales around the world.

Google says that “it’s not just about spraypaint,” with murals, large-scale photo-portraits, acid etching, and surrealism rounding out the variety of art types you can find in this gallery, spread amongst 100 different exhibitions. Additionally, Google touts that you can use Street View to explore even the street art that is closed to the public, and those that have already been completely demolished.

Here today, gone tomorrow. The transient nature of street art means it can be at risk of being scrubbed out and lost forever to its legions of fans. But long after the paint has faded from the walls, technology can help preserve street art, so people can discover it wherever and whenever they like. In a new project launching today, we’ve partnered with street art experts to bring you 5,000+ images and around 100 exhibitions in the Google Art Project—telling a story of street art around the world.