HUNDREDS of art and streetwear enthusiasts are expected to converge on Swindon town centre this evening for a special screening of a film about an internationally-renowned street artist.

Obey Giant covers the life and work of Shepard Fairey, an American contemporary street artist, graphic designer, activist, illustrator and founder of Obey Clothing.

The free event has been brought to Swindon by Andy Knight who co-owns The Forum, based in the Brunel Centre.

He said: “This is massive for the culture scene here. Shepard Fairey is one of the leading street artists and is up there with the likes of Banksy. He is one of the pioneers in the street art movement, that we’re living right now!

“To have a global brand such as Obey and an artist of his calibre to come to our town is next level, I would travel to other cities to see this.

“This will only open doors for the next thing to happen, so many people say not enough top-quality things happen in Swindon, but this isn’t the case.

“In years down the line, you would have been part of the street art era. It’s just like our dads and grandads being part of the Pop Art era.”

Andy added: “I’m extremely proud and honoured to be given the opportunity to put something like this together for us all to enjoy.”

The film is being screened at Meca.

Fairey, who is best known for his Hope campaign, featuring a portrait of Barack Obama when he was a presidential candidate, studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and then created his Obey series in the early 1990s.

Currently based in California, his artworks feature in places like the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the national Portrait Gallery in Washington and the Smithsonian.

Obey Giant is a 90-minute documentary filmed by James Moll who has won two Emmys, an Academy Award and a Grammy for his previous work.

It follows his life, his rise from the world of skateboarding and punk and his emergence as one of the most influential street artists in the world after raising his profile with an Andrew the Giant Has a Posse sticker campaign while he was a student.

Andy is also a keen art enthusiast and collector himself and decided he wanted to bring the film to Swindon after he was invited to the premiere at The House of Vans in London.

He told the Advertiser he chose Meca as the venue because he wanted to create an underground secret cinema vibe.

The event will start at 7pm and Simon Holmes, who runs Obey Europe, will do a talk before the show.

More than 150 people have already registered to get their ticket for the screening. Tickets are available via the eventbrite website.