Doug Gillen: The Voice of Fifth Wall TV on Street Art, Public Spaces, and Keeping the Rebellion Alive

Doug Gillen didn’t just stumble into the art world - he threw himself into it, camera in hand, determined to make sense of the chaos. What started as a way to document the artists he saw around East London has grown into Fifth Wall TV, a platform that pulls back the curtain on street art, public spaces, and the politics that shape them.

He’s not here for safe, decorative murals designed to keep city planners happy - he wants art that challenges, disrupts, and actually means something. In this interview, Doug talks about the biggest threats to street art, why public spaces belong to the people, and, crucially, which dinosaur he respects the most.

Fifth Wall TV has become a key voice in the art world. What inspired you to start the platform, and how has its mission evolved over time?

Firstly, thanks for saying so. I first started Fifth Wall TV as a way to gain some kind of footing into a world I was drawn to, but knew nothing about. Coming from my background outside of art, filming the artist's I'd see around me in East London and posting think-pieces on YouTube became a really organic way for me to contribute to the culture.

The mission is largely the same as it always was - find ways to make art, whether in galleries or on the streets, as accessible as possible.

Through the process of just doing it, I've been lucky enough to work in some cool places with some cool people.

You cover a wide range of topics, from public art to the politics behind it. In your opinion, what’s the biggest challenge facing street / mural artists today?

For me the biggest challenge both face is continuing to allow the space outside of large-scale commissioned murals to successfully flourish.

Mural festivals are now common place in most cities, but murals are just one arm of the wider "street art" culture. There's so much value to be placed in the other mediums, whether it's stickers, sculpture, stencils, left-field conceptual interventions or whatever else, but I think they often get over looked by placemakers and the financial backers.

I don't think it's too hyperbolic to suggest that the homogenization of street art culture is it's biggest threat. Safe concepts designed to please everyone and beautify neighbourhoods is a far cry from the spirit of resistance and rebellion that street art and graffiti are built on.

Slim Safont, Nuart Aberdeen ©Doug Gillen

You’ve documented countless artists and projects. Is there a particular piece or moment that has stood out to you as truly game-changing?

Not too sure I'd describe them as game-changing, but many of the projects I’ve worked on have been deeply meaningful to me on a personal level. Art charged on into my life in my mid-twenties and completely took over. I try to build long-term relationships with the artists and projects I collaborate with. Public art initiatives, in particular, often take years for the seeds to truly take root.

You can’t just arrive in a city, host a festival, and expect people to immediately understand or embrace what you’re doing. But when you stick around long enough to see that process unfold - watching not only the physical environments transform but also the attitudes and perspectives of the people in those neighbourhoods - that's when it all clicks into place. Being even a small part of that change is what keeps me going.

With the art world constantly changing, from graffiti to large-scale murals and street art where do you see it evolving in the future?

It's hard to say, I think it's now so omni-present in urban spaces it's well on it's way to being completely accepted in some form or another. The direction this whole things goes lies in hands of the organisations that facilitate public art, and I don't think they all fully understand or acknowledge the power that wields.

More art, more projects and more paint is great, but I'd love to see deeper consideration for how we can utilise art as a tool in the fight for Democracy. Every single public art project should encourage us to take a more active role in our public spaces. It should remind us that we have power and we don't have to just passively accept what is being handed down to us from the top down.

Lucy McLauchlan, Mural Fest ©Doug Gillen

One final, very important question from my 5-year-old boy: What's your favourite dinosaur?

Whatever the one was that off'd Wayne Knight in the original Jurassic Park.

You can find Doug on Instagram @fifthwalltv

Interview by Johnny Larran, 2025.