As graffiti moves from eyesore to amenity, landlords cash in
From Berlin to London to Miami, graffiti is attracting developers and companies looking for hip neighbourhoods, as well as brands keen to spruik their products.
Julian Phethean’s first canvas in London was a shed in his backyard where he covered the walls with bold lettering in spray paint. When he moved his art to the city’s streets in the 1980s, it was largely unwelcome – and he was even arrested a few times.
“We had nowhere to practise,” he says. “It was just seen as vandalism.”
