Alexis Walls - South Wall

Portland Street Art Alliance’s new graffiti production, The Alexis Walls has just expanded. The Alexis Walls will showcase some of the finest and well-respected Pacific Northwest artistic talent, and provide the public with a curated rotating public art gallery. On the second wall, PSAA brought together some of our favorite local rail-riding artists Guams, Humen, and Clamo (Clamnation).

Business and property owners constantly came by to chat with the artists about their work, loving what they saw and asking for them to paint their walls too. We got tons of honking horns and thumbs up over the 5 days it took the artists to paint this mural. Inspired by Greek vases, the artists took this general idea and added their own unique flare. 

The aim of The Alexis Walls is to show the larger community what is possible when artists are given the time, space, and means to produce quality work in this genre of art.

Special thanks to the owners of Alexis Foods; who provided PSAA open access to their walls and a donation to kick-off this project. We are looking forward to bringing more communities together, securing new walls, and helping to sow the seeds of creativity and acceptance in the Central Eastside.

Alexis Walls - North Wall

Introducing Portland Street Art Alliance’s new graffiti production, The Alexis Walls! After months of planning, we are thrilled to launch this unique and dynamic project. The Alexis Walls will showcase some of the finest and well-respected Pacific Northwest artistic talent, and provide the public with a curated rotating public art gallery. In this first round of murals, PSAA brought together local graffiti legends Kango, Joins, Giver, Spud, Rasko, Rite, Nekon, Ekose, Jade, and Eras.

Photo by @OddioPhoto

After just a few weeks of painting, the project has already sparked excitement in the arts community and buy-in from the larger SE industrial business community. It’s not everyday the public gets to see such a display of graffiti-style art.

It is our aim to show the larger community what is possible when artists are given the time, space, and means to produce quality work in this genre of art.

Special thanks to the owners of Alexis Foods; who provided PSAA open access to their walls and a sizable donation to kick-off this project. We are looking forward to bringing more communities together, securing new walls, and helping to sow the seeds of creativity and acceptance in the Central Eastside.

Photo © @OddioPhoto

Photo © Portland Street Art Alliance

All photos © Portland Street Art Alliance @OddioPhoto

Art Fills The Void

CALL TO ACTION

One of our city's oldest murals, the Art Fills the Void (aka "Banana Mural") on SE Division & 12th, needs our help. Originally painted in 1982 by Guerrilla Wallflare, this mural has been a unique piece of Portland's public art scene for over 40 years.

The mural has faced a lot of wear and tear, and for almost a decade Portland Street Art Alliance has been maintaining it with our own funds. But now we need community support to keep it going!

Every donation, big or small, will go directly toward preserving this piece of Portland's history. Let’s make sure this iconic mural continues to inspire our city!

Mural Damage as of November 13, 2024 (Projected Repair Costs $450)

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IN THE MEDIA

PRESS about the campaign to preserve the mural

Willamette Week

KGW KOIN 6

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THE HISTORY OF PORTLAND‘S 2nd OLDEST MURAL

With its abundant low-lying commercial buildings, ample wall space, and eccentric quirkiness, Portland Oregon had a unique mural arts scene in the 1980s. In 1982,Gorilla Wallflare formed.

It was one of Portland’s first anonymous “graffiti” art crews. This small group of citizens brought some much needed color and excitement to Portland dull walls, all undercover, and without permission. They called them “painted landmarks, political statements, graffiti, and spoofs.” After painting each of their three Portland murals, they sent a type-written letter to city officials and news outlets telling them about their actions and motivations.

Gorilla Wallflare’s first “attack” was their Art Fills the Void! banana mural at the corner of SE 12th and Division. This large 30 by 50 foot painting of a bruised banana may look like a reference to Andy Warhol, but a member of Gorilla Wallflare has said that it was originally about the war in Central America, a banana republic, “Viva mi banana! The group later decided to change the wall’s exclamation to “Art Fills the Void,” as a protest to the existence of such a boring blank wall.

Art Fills the Void! is the oldest mural in Portland. Predating even the 1984 Black Pride Malcolm X Mural (Read more about that mural here).

It is also a rare example 80s murals in Portland. Many old community murals in Portland were lost between 1998 and 2005, during the lengthy legal battle between the City of Portland and AK Media (now Clear Channel) over signage rights.

This local landmark is centrally positioned on the corner of SE 12th and Division. Once a quiet and somewhat seedy and abandoned part of town, this is now one of Portland’s most quickly gentrifying and developing neighborhoods, being cooked up by Portland’s sizzling food scene.

The Art Fills the Void! mural shows how communities can embrace a piece of illegal graffiti, and over time come to appreciate and embrace it. With or without permission, this piece of “graffiti” has lasted decades, and now holds a special place in Portland’s urban landscape and social consciousness.

2014 Interview with Frank DeSantis, ORIGINAL MURAL TEAM

Tell us a little about Gorilla Wallflare, and what made you form the group? There were about 5 of us who actually painted the murals. Of that, 4 were professional artists. But we had lots of honorary members. We were inspired by graffiti artists, just get out there and doing something about it. Artistic inspirations came from Calder, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Dali, Duchamp, Matisse, Man Ray, and a group called the Art Squad out of Canada.

Willamette Week called you Portland’s “underground graffiti gang,” did you see what you were doing as “graffiti” as we think of it today? Although I saw it as graffiti, I wanted it to be something different. We waved to authorities while we painted in broad daylight, sometimes taking all day to complete the project. Naïve, maybe, but there was definitely an adrenalin rush in being clandestine and brazen at the same time. I remember liking that, but didn’t care for using the words “underground” or “graffiti” at the time.

Other than Art Fills the Void! did Gorilla Wallflare paint any other guerilla murals in Portland? We painted three murals – “Art Fills the Void,” ‘Oh No!” on the Hawthorne Bridge, and the “Fingerprint” on SE Belmont.

What were these other murals about? The Fingerprint mural on Belmont was a subtle message about privacy and the rights of the individual. It felt as if soon everyone would be followed and watched. The Oh, No! explosion, on the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge, was about the end of the world, then in 1984, just a few years away.

Why did Gorilla Wallflare send letters to the press about the murals? 
The letter was fun to write, and a great public relations gag. How else can you get a half page of free public relations and advertising in The Oregonian newspaper? 

What were the reactions to you guys out there painting these murals in broad daylight without any permission? 
We wore painter’s pants, hats, and had official-looking ladders. We usually painted on Sundays. At the time, there were no sign inspectors or mural regulations. This was also the worn, torn, and tattered Eastside; people just didn’t notice of a couple of painters painting the wall. We had one person stop at the banana painting, a small Asian man carrying grocery bags. He looked up at us on the ladders and said, “Oh, that’s enough food to feed my family all week.” He laughed and kept waking. A police car drove by once and just kept on going. The owner of the office supplies store where the banana was painted was surprised by the new art, but they liked it. They actually incorporated it into their marketing campaigns.

Did you find that your antics generated any discussion in the city?
 Some discussion, I’m sure, but in circles I wasn’t privy to in Portland. The city’s mural program did loosen up some a year or two later, or so it seemed. We really weren’t interested in the legal aspects. We were a guerilla operation; in and out. It was about free speech. We had more of an affinity towards graffiti, than the stodgy mural scene.

Gorilla Wallflare painted their murals before the City of Portland had to enact mural and sign permitting regulations we have today. How do you feel about that shift, how the city handles now handles public murals? 
Who’s to say who can approve or not approve art? I’m not that knowledge about these mural waivers and permits, but I do know about sign codes and permits. Those I understand, but why regulate murals? They are artistic community ventures. We went through all that rigmarole for other murals. It was too much bureaucracy. Too much of being a “suit.” By the time we got through it, we were bored with the whole thing and could care less. The initial creative thought and energy were lost. Better to beg for forgiveness, than ask for permission.

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HISTORIC MURAL RESTORATION BY PSAA

The Art Fills the Void! project took place during the summer of 2015 and was sponsored by SE Uplift’s Small Neighborhood Grants Program. This project included several community outreach, education, and networking events, including an interpretive bicycle tour, a street art of SE Portland brochure, and the revitalization of Portland’s oldest “gorilla graffiti,” the iconic Art Fills the Void!  mural on SE 12th & Division.

The goal of this project was to provide more community resources and opportunities that promote livability and art in the streets of SE Portland. These types of experiences not only increase the number and diversity of people engaged in and connected to their communities thereby promoting stronger cultural and historical identities, but they also empower people to become active leaders with the skills and inspiration needed to continue to shape and improve their shared public spaces in the future.

The Art Fills the Void! project was a full historic restoration of the iconic Art Fills the Void mural, something that has not been done in decades. After decades of fading, damage, and haphazard touch-ups, PSAA connected with muralist and sign painter Frank DeSantis to obtain original photos, stencils, and schematics to be able to reproduce the mural true its 1982 form.

The repainting took weeks of planning, 5 days to buff and repaint. This was all completely done with volunteer labor, organized by PSAA. In addition to core PSAA volunteers, several local artists like Galen Malcolm, Jon Stommel and Travis Czekalski (Rather Severe) donated their time and expertise to paint the mural details.

Additionally, several banana mural neighbors, mainly Joel and Mary Schroeder, provided invaluable assistance, coming out to help on multiple days, storing ladders, and helping PSAA manage on-the-ground logistics. Restoring this mural was truly a community achievement, through and through.

Everyone passing by had great things to say about the mural, recounting their experiences with it throughout the years and how wonderful it was to see it being restored. Local business employees came out on their breaks to watch us paint and chat about the project. Passing cars honked, bicyclists rang their bells, and every two hours we got a tipsy applause from the bar-hopping group bicycle tour, Pedalounge.

These types of experiences not only increase the number and diversity of people engaged in and connected to their communities thereby promoting stronger cultural and historical identities, but they also empower people to become active leaders with the skills and inspiration needed to continue to shape and improve their shared public spaces in the future. PSAA was proud to be able to restore this piece of Portland history for generations to come.

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MURAL RESTORATION CELEBREATION BICYCLE TOUR 

The Art Fills the Void! project provided a public interpretive bicycle tour of existing murals and street art installations in the SE Uplift area of Portland. PSAA tour guides provided descriptions, histories, and explanations of the artwork seen at each tour stop.

PSAA tour guides provided a bicycle tour that provided descriptions, histories, and explanations of the artwork seen at each tour stop. Several local artists, activists, and academics participated by being guest speakers a tour stops; talking about various topics they focus on and experiences they’ve had painting murals in Portland.

Speakers included local artists Jon Stommel and The Lost Cause, who spoke about their experiences painting the Music Millennium mural in 2013 in collaboration with PSAA.

Local artists Paige Wright and Lord Blakley who spoke about their experiences painting murals for the 2014 Forest for the Trees project.

Representatives from the City of Portland including City Planner and mural permit program coordinator, Douglas Strickler and Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC) Public Art Manager Peggy Kendellen provided overviews of both official systems for creating legal art in the streets.

Other speakers included Gage Hamilton, director of Forest for the Trees, Kohel Haver a lawyer who specializes in artistic copyright law, and PSU geography professor Hunter Shobe whose research focus on the politics of public space, geographies of graffiti, and sense of place. Unfortunately the bicycle tour had to be cut short due to inclement weather (even for Portland standards!) so the rest of the group converged at Sweetpea Baking Company for good coffee and conversation.

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Graffiti + Activism Panel Talk

In September 2014, representatives from three organizations; Portland Street Art Alliance (PSAA), Endless Canvas (Bay Area, CA) and Graffiti Defense Coalition (GDC) (Seattle, WA) participated in a panel discussion exploring the use of graffiti as a tool for communication and activism.

UNMEDIATED ACCESS & COMMUNICATION IN SPACE

The event was held at the University of Oregon in Portland, as part of the Cascade Media Convergence, a three-day long regional gathering of community-based media organizations, journalists, and artists.

The panel discussion focused on what activism graffiti is, how it can be an effective tactic, how it’s spatial and social contexts affect its message and impact, and how city municipalities and corporations have responded to these types of actions.

The panelists were first asked how they define “graffiti” for the purposes of the discussion.

Occupy graffiti, Portland 2011. Photo: Portland Street Art Alliance

Although each panelist’s definition differed, consensus was that graffiti should be framed both legally and culturally. Legally speaking, graffiti is any marking text, or imagery that’s done in public (private property or public city-owned space) without permission. One type of illegal marking, is activist graffiti, which aims to communicate a dissenting message to the larger public. It was noted by panelists that all of these definitions are fluid and not universal. What is, or is not, considered graffiti greatly depends on the cultural, spatial, and legal contexts within which it is created and viewed.

The panelists then discussed how graffiti exercises our rights to free speech and expression.

Make Living Space Cast out Investors, Berlin September 2011. Photo: Portland Street Art Alliance

Panelists felt that graffiti is a highly autonomous and democratic mode of communication. Because it occurs in public, graffiti is a way for a wide range of people that might not typically interact with one another, to freely and directly communicate with one another. The anonymity acts as a mask, protecting people from being prosecuted (unless caught) and encourages honesty and harsh criticism.

Endless Canvas representatives pointed out that graffiti is an accessible medium for anyone, no matter what their socio-economic status is. Everyone can, at least in theory, create graffiti in public space. In so doing, graffiti can give value and power to under-served parts of society because it’s a way to insert their voice and presence into spaces where they’re otherwise not welcomed or allowed.

Anti-Ulises Ruiz Ortiz graffiti, Oaxaca 2006. Photo: Itandehui Franco Ortiz

Women’s Rights graffiti by Grrrl Army, Seattle 2012. Photo: Portland Street Art Alliance

Graffiti also challenges so-called “free speech zones,” acting outside of these regulated spaces and pushing the boundaries of what is done and tolerated in public space.

Next, panelists provided examples of how graffiti has been used as a tactic for activism and direct action.  

Occupy graffiti, London 2011. Photo: monevator.com

Protest graffiti has been used in countless social movements throughout history. Recent examples can been seen in the Occupy, Egyptian, and Greek uprisings of 2011, the 2006 Oaxaca, Mexico protests, and the 2014 anti-World Cup graffiti in Brazil.

“In our home, our own freedom, our own strength and our own truth.” Kyiv, Ukraine April 2014. Photo: Magdalena Patalong

The multiplying power of social media technologies can amplify the reach of these social and political commentaries. Therefore, these types of unregulated communications can have an immense amount of potential power that governments fear. Governments have been known to shut down telecommunications during political uprisings (for example, in Venezuela, Ukraine, and Egypt).

Memorial Mural for Victims of Police Brutality Oakland, 2013. Photo: Endless Canvas

Violations of free speech like this can even be seen in the U.S. For example, Endless Canvas representatives explained that following the fatal shooting of Oscar Grant by a BART police officer in 

Oakland, BART shut down all underground cell phone service to try to prevent large protests. In some cases, graffiti is one of the only ways people can communicate dissenting messages to the public.

Billboard graffiti, Berkeley 2009. Photo: Craig Cook

Also discussed was how graffiti is often used to protest the “visual pollution” of corporate advertising. One of the most interesting cases presented was how Bay Area graffiti writers concentrated their interventions on certain billboard advertisements. These pieces tended to last longer on billboards than other spaces in the city because they were in hard-to-reach spaces, which proved to be difficult for the billboard company to remove. The owners eventually found these billboards to be a lost cause and were decommissioned due to unprofitability. Though the graffiti writers were unconsciously making a political statement, other guerilla artists found that these tactics were a powerful way for average people to fight against corporate advertisements in public space.

It was also pointed out by one panelist that after the AK Media (now Clear Channel) vs. City of Portland case of 2005, painting murals without official city permission in Portland was (and still could be) seen as a form of protest. Today, all murals that are done without a permit or RACC waiver can be reported as “illegal graffiti,” fined, and forcefully removed by the city (regardless of whether or not the property owner consents).

Art Fills the Void by Gorilla Wallflare, Portland. 1982. Photo: Gorilla Wallflare

Kickin Ass for the Working Class by Nuclear Winter, May 1 2011. Photo: Endless Canvas

Panelists were then asked how permitted activist art differs from un-permitted activist graffiti.

Anti-GMO mural in Oakland by Pancho Peskador and Desi W.O.M.E, April 2012.

On one hand, panelists saw both legal and illegal activist art as two different strategies that can work simultaneously. Both forms can communicate powerful messages to the public though political commentary, making an impact on civic consciousness.

On the other hand, panelists also pointed out that it is impossible to radically change the system by working within it. Some believe illegal activist art is a much blunter weapon that maintains maximum power and impact. With illegal art, there is no censorship. It is not mediated through the framework of capitalism or the state and the risks artists take to trespass and produce their artwork illegally infuses their art with intrinsic symbolic power.

Occupy Walls by Graffiti Against the System (GATS), Portland 2011. Photo: Portland Street Art Alliance

Lastly, panelists were asked to think about the public’s reactions to graffiti and how it alters our perceptions of space in the city.

Falsas Promesas Broken Promises, South Bronx, 1980. Photo: John Fekner

A Graffiti Defense Coalition representative gave the example of New York City in the late 1970s when many young people saw graffiti as a creative way to bring much needed color to the crumbling and decaying city, exciting the urban landscapes around them. Amidst this political and infrastructural chaos, authorities and the media began to campaign against graffiti, associating it with dirt, decay, disease, and madness. These anti-graffiti campaigns cited the “broken windows theory” as their basis, arguing that minor misdemeanors (like graffiti) must be stopped or there will be an atmosphere of lawlessness that will attract serious criminal offenders who will assume that residents don’t care about the neighborhood.

By promoting a culture of unrealistic fears, and tapping into the public’s moral insecurities, authorities were able to justify increased policing and regulations of our public spaces. Policing ideologies like this did nothing to address the longstanding social inequalities, infrastructural neglect, purposeful arson-for-profit scams, and declining tax revenues that were causing urban decline at this time. Today, it’s clear to see that graffiti is often actually a sign of a vibrant urban area, or one that’s in the early stages of gentrification (Berlin, Bushwick, and Miami, etc).

Portland Street Art Alliance members then pointed out that dominant ideologies define what is, and is not appropriate in public spaces. In the case of graffiti, the public was told by city-sponsored anti-graffiti ads and public announcements that they should prevent graffiti at all costs, that it didn’t belong in the city, and will cause a spiral of decay like is seen in extremely neglected and ignored urban neighborhoods, like the South Bronx in the 1970s and 80s. Subsequently, the tide of fear and criticism against graffiti rolled in.

Representatives of Endless Canvas echoed the sentiment, stating that graffiti doesn’t actually physically hurt anyone, and the battle between the city and graffiti artists, is a sign of a much larger battle for control, voice, and representation.

Graffiti is considered a major urban problem because it challenges the notion of private property, and by extension, the entire system in which modern society is built upon. It also makes us think about who really does or should have control of our public visual space. It is symbolic of a much larger struggle for our collective rights to the city.

Special thanks to Brett Peters for helping to write this article and CMC organizers, particularly Tim Rice, for supporting and making this regional discussion possible. 

Music Millennium Mural

In the spring of 2013, Portland Street Art Alliance and two local artists, The Lost Cause (TLC) and Jon Stommel of Rather Severe, successfully completed a community-funded mural on the backside of Music Millennium (3158 E Burnside). This was PSAA's first project, bringing together the founding team to engage with the community and facilitating art in the streets. 

PSAA and this project started in an unlikely way. The prior winter (2012) TLC and local art shop, Home:bass, launched a very successful fundraising campaign, raising almost 3 times more than what they asked for. Everything was going smoothly until TLC was painting the mural and was approached by Portland Police. The officers interrogated him, asking what he was doing, and if he had a permit. No one knew that in addition to owner-permission, you also need a City of Portland mural permit to legally paint an art mural. The Home:bass shop was no stranger to Portland police, being the frequent target of surveillance, especially during their street art show openings. Due to these complications, the Home:bass mural project fell through when Home:bass's lease was not renewed by the property owner. 

That is when the founding members of PSAA stepped in, Tiffany and Tomas. After a few brainstorming sessions, the team hit the streets canvasing local business to find a new mural space for this project. After approaching about 20 business on Burnside, Stark and Hawthorne, we walked into Music Millennium, the oldest record store in the Pacific Northwest. We were imminently directed to speak to Terry Currier the owner. Terry was very open-minded and excited at the prospect of bringing some color and energy to his blank white wall. Even better, the artists were willing to do this project at no cost Music Millennium, as the crowd-source funding covered most of the costs associated with paint and labor. 

The artist team worked with Terry Currier, the owner of Music Millennium, to create a design that would be reminiscent of the record store’s psychedelic roots. They decided on a colorful Beatles-inspired array of happy characters and swirling patterns. PSAA secured the City of Portland mural permit.

Speaking about his art and the new mural, the The Lost Cause said, “We just want to make people smile and laugh. It was a great experience to paint this mural and get to talk with people of all ages, some neighbors and others coming to the record shop. They liked the characters and bright colors.”

Check out PSAA's video documenting some of the creative process!

ALL PHOTOS © PSAA

Reclaim The Streets Symposium

Reclaim The Streets: A SYMPOSIUM ON ART & PUBLIC SPACE

PSAA Co-Director Tiffany Conklin recently moderated a panel discussion on Art & Public Space at a Symposium in Victoria B.C. The following is a report back from that event.

Founded in 1972, the Open Space Arts Society is a non-profit artist-run centre located in Victoria, British Columbia. Open Space supports artists who utilize hybrid and experimental approaches to media, art, music, and performance. In April 2014, Open Space hosted a two-day symposium that brought together artists, scholars, curators, activists, city officials, community organizations, and engaged citizens to examine the goals, perceptions, problems, and possibilities of unsanctioned public art. This free and public symposium also featured presentations and a series of round-table panel discussions to encourage audience involvement and participation in these important conversations. The symposium was generously sponsored by the City of Victoria and the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria.

Open Space Assistant Curator Sara Fruchtman and local artist-in-residence Cameron Kidd organized this local and international community event. The symposium was the final finale of Kidd’s 10 month residency at Open Space. During this time, he’s helped to create 3 murals, and a variety of projects that addressed the need for youth engagement and more publicly accessible sites for street art in the city.

Kidd and Fruchtman just successfully pitched a new project to the city – turning Commercial Alley behind the centre into a new city-sponsored mural zone, the first of its kind in Victoria.

Key note speaker Barbara Cole, the director of Other Sights for Artists’ Projects presented examples of how artists she works with are resisting, reinterpreting, and reinventing the ways in which our cities’ public places are experienced. In 2010, Other Sights curated a piece of public art by Folke Koeb­ber­ling and Mar­tin Kalt­wasser, two Berlin-based artist who built a compostable bulldozer in empty lot about to be developed in Vancouver B.C.

The first panel discussion focused on the various types of spaces in the city: public, semi-public, and private space. On the panel was: art activist Kika Thorne, geography professor Reuben Rose-Redwood, sculptor Mowry Baden, and the founders of the The Wayward School, Stefan Morales and Heather Cosidetto.

They discussed questions like: What is public space? Who has the right to occupy and use these space? Do all members of society have access to it? What should public spaces be used for, and not used for? Does public space need to be regulated ? If so, by whom? Can public space be community-managed? If we spaces completely open for any use, then how do we govern our relations within those spaces? How do we sustain a shared and safe space, and prevent a tragedy of the commons?

The second session focused on public art and youth engagement, specifically the ways in which communities can support youth in becoming more positively engaged with public space, especially when it comes to art practices. The panel included Sue Donaldson of the BC Arts Council, Haida artist Sacha Ouellet, Tla-o-qui-aht wood carver Hjalmer Wenstob, and theatre director Will Weigler.

Katrina Thorsen provided examples from her 10 years of experience as a therapeutic art facilitator. Similar to alcohol and drug addiction therapy, Thorsen uses street art as a therapeutic practice for at-risk and traumatized youth. She’s found that community-based street art can be used as a highly effective tool of empowerment, helping youth integrate themselves into public life, build confidence, strengthen community support structures in an active, positive, and supportive ways. Thorsen found that providing youth public spaces to express themselves in helped them find their ‘voice’ and feel like they are be heard.

Next up was the screening of 100 Layers of Beige, a local documentary directed by Kay Gallivan (VIPIRG) and Zsofin Sheehy (Wandering Eye Media). The film focuses on  Trackside Gallery and the conflicts that led to the end of one of Canada’s largest graffiti walls.

100 Layers Beige Trailer from Zsofin Sheehy on Vimeo.

The final session focused on exploring the differences between sanctioned and unsanctioned street art. Panel participants included street artists Cameron Kidd and “Other” (Troy Lovegates), the City of Victoria Arts and Culture Coordinator Nichola Reddington,Erika Heyrman the owner of Wildfire Bakery and a local free wall, and Tiffany Conklin of the Portland Street Art Alliance.

This last panel explored topics like: Why are some forms of unsanctioned interventions (often called street art) more socially acceptable than letter-based graffiti? What are the differences and similarities between these practices? Both are often illegal, but are both always vandalism? The panel also proposed ideas on how communities can support the types of artistic interventions they want to see. Rather than criminalizing, dictating, and suppressing, instead asking: how can we collectively manage, compromise, and improve the quality and vibrancy of our streets?

Although many insights arose, a few key ideas seemed to resonate with the crowd. Some called for more action against the overabundance of advertisements in the city. Saying, that this type of visual pollution is often tolerated and ignored, only because it is backed by capital. Graffiti is no different than ads, except that it is free and springs from the grassroots. Additionally, advertisers are not easily regulated since they have strong legal teams and lobbyists. They can promote with impunity, regardless of the negative effects campaigns may have on our physical and mental spaces.

The quality and accessibility of a city’s public spaces are a true reflection of the quality, commitment, and vibrancy of the communities that live there. The peopleof the city are in control of it’s public spaces. However, this right to the city can only be realized if we have an active and empowered citizenry. Rather than being complacent or passively complaining about something, we need to act, sometimes alone, but more effectively, as a diverse group working from all angles towards a common goal.

Sharing experiences and ideas (even if conflicting) is one of the best ways to generate new solutions and approaches. Having safe social spaces where we can all communicate and be heard, regardless of our power, money, or status in the community, is the primary objective. Pubic space is the original and only true democratic arena, however, it can only serve this role if people consistently occupy it and communicate with one another about the pressing issues of their time and place. We are the city, and the city is us.