Very Nearly Almost was a London-based street art and graffiti print magazine which documented what was going on in the scene from, paint and through to gallery shows and events. It also brought 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 and there were 35 issues, published quarterly. It was distributed globally, with a print run of 8,000. Issue 35, the final issue, was released in January 2017. The and accounts were last updated in December 2019.
Issues
Issue 1
Limited to 120 hand numbered copies, the first Issue was published on 15 September 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 1 December 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 2 July 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 5 December 2007.
Issue 5
Published on 16 April 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 23 July 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 15 October 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 19 February 2009.
Issue 9
The ninth issue was published on 25 June 2009 and featured Meggs, Sickboy and Ron English.
Issue 10
Issue ten was published on 3 December 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 15 April 2010.
Issue 12
Issue twelve was launched on 12 August 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 15 October 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 10 January 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 26 May 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 8 September 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.
