Very Nearly Almost

Very Nearly Almost (VNA) is an London-based street art and graffiti print magazine which documents the scene. (VNA) tracks everything that's going on in the scene from (wheatpastes), paint and (stencils) through to gallery shows and events. It also brings in-depth feature articles and interviews with the biggest names on the scene, as well as up and coming artists. Previous cover artists include Ben Eine, Shepard Fairey, D*Face, Kid Acne, Insa, Invader and ROA.

It was founded in September 2006 by George Macdonald ^[1] and there have since been 24 issues, published quarterly. It is distributed globally, with a print run of 8,000.

Issues

Issue 1

Limited to 120 hand numbered copies, the first Issue was published on September 15, 2006 and was only available in selected stores, like the Tate Modern bookshop. The content was confined to photographs of street art, graffiti and tags.

Issue 2

The second issue was published on December 1, 2006 and included photos of artworks by Faile, Banksy, Obey, Invader, D*Face, Miss Van, Insa, Blek Le Rat and many other famous street artists as well as a bundle of Very Nearly Almost vinyl stickers.

Issue 3

On July 2, 2007 the third issue was published. It was the first time that the magazine was available on the internet.

Issue 4

Issue four featured photographs of the latest street art from London on 52 full colored pages. It was published on December 5, 2007.

Issue 5

Published on April 16, 2008 the fifth Very Nearly Almost issue was completely redesigned and featured urban artists from all over the globe like Sickboy, Banksy, Swoon, Faile, Pure Evil, Dave the Chimp, Obey Giant, D*face, Invader, and others.

Issue 6

On July 23, 2008 the sixth issue was published, this time including a coverage of the Cans Festival in London.

Issue 7

Issue seven, which was published on October 15, 2008 and featured C215, was the first issue to be celebrated with a launch party, which was supported by different sponsors.

Issue 8

Featuring Kid Acne, Herakut, Faile, JR, Dave the Chimp, Nylon, Stagger and published on February 19, 2009.

Issue 9

The ninth issue was published on June 25, 2009 and featured Meggs, Sickboy and Ron English.

Issue 10

Issue ten was published on December 3, 2009 included a coverage of the Fame Festival and featured D*face, Delta, and other street artists. This was the first issue which was available in two editions - the regular and a special edition with a screen-printed cover by D*Face

Issue 11

Issue eleven boasted a special edition with a screen-printed cover by Insa. It was published on April 15, 2010.

Issue 12

Issue twelve was launched on August 12, 2010 and included a cover artist interview on Roa. The launch party was supported by Mr. Jago who painted live and Pure Evil’s band played music. The limited special edition's cover was screen-printed by ROA.

Issue 13

Issue thirteen was launched on October 15, 2010 as a part of the Moniker Art Fair. The limited special edition's cover is screen-printed by Ben Eine and the magazine featured interviews with Elbow-Toe, Espo, Miso, Tilt and What.

Issue 14

Issue fourteen was released on January 10, 2011 at the Brick Lane Gallery, this time featuring Sickboy as a cover artist, with 80 screen printed copies available at the launch. Mysterious Al, Pedro Matos, Evan Hecox and Doze Green were also featured.

Issue 15

Issue fifteen saw VNA print run increase to 5,000 to accommodate the demand from their Shepard Fairey cover. The number of pages in the magazine also increased. This issue launched at Black Rat Press on May 26 and the limited editions screen printed magazines sold out in under fifteen minutes. The issue also contained interviews with Logan Hicks, Burning Candy, Nychos and Elph.

Issue 16

Issue sixteen was released on September 8 at Pictures on Walls and saw an even greater demand for the limited copies which were designed by Invader in line with his in-depth interview in the magazine. Also interviewed were Kid Zoom, Will Barras and Trustocorp.

Issue 17

Issue twenty features TLP (The London Police) on the cover

Issue 18

Issue eighteen has Conor Harrington as cover artist.

Issue 19

Issue nineteen features Anthony Lister on the cover.

Issue 20

Issue twenty features RETNA on the cover. This was the first issue with alternate covers for retail sales and direct online sales (exclusive to verynearlyalmost.com)

Issue 21

Issue twenty one features Miss Van on the cover

Issue 22

Issue twenty two features Vhils on the cover

Issue 23

Issue twenty three features Faile on the cover

Issue 24

Issue twenty four features Paul Insect on the cover

References

1. VNA Urban Art Magazine, Article about Very Nearly Almost

External links

• Very Nearly Almost blog & shop