Google immortalises the world's street art

Internet search company Google has expanded its Google Art Project with the addition of over 5,000 iconic street art images from around the globe.

A mural created by Iranian artists Icy and Sot in New York as part of the "5Pointz NYC" project that has now since been whitewashed. (Google Art)

Google said the decision was motivated by a desire to immortalise the ephemereal nature of street art.

"The transient nature of street art means it can be at risk of being scrubbed out and lost forever to its legions of fans," writes the Google Cultural Institute's programme manager, Lucy Schwartz, on the official Google blog.

"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... Street art may be temporary on our walls and sidewalks, but its beauty and vibrancy live on, on the web."

The 5,000 street art works are organised by location, artist, medium and style.

Street art in Newtown, Sydney. (Photo: Brianna Roberts)

Sydney street artist, Anya Brock, with her art, displayed at Glue clothes store in Sydney's Bondi Junction (Photo: Brianna Roberts)

Thirty partnering cultural organisations in 15 different countries have supplied the images through their curators. 

The collection also includes work that no longer exists or has since been whitewashed away. One example includes an open air museum of graffiti in New York, called "5 Pointz NYC", that was created in 2013.