Councils in Melbourne’s northwest sprayed over graffiti art workshop
Two council’s in Melbourne’s northwest have copped a spray for using ratepayer money to teach teenagers how to graffiti. But the holiday workshop has been praised by prominent artists.
North West
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Maribyrnong Council has come under fire for using ratepayer money to teach teens how to graffiti.
But prominent street artist Hayden Dewar has backed the workshop, saying any teenager who wanted to attend an artistic workshop would not be a tagger.
Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay councils are running free graffiti workshops this week for 12 to 18-year-olds, which teach participants how to use spray paint cans and stencils on canvas.
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The workshops are designed to encourage street art and described as a chance for youths “to express their artistic talents within a managed and mentored environment”.
The workshops include a discussion on graffiti laws.
But Ratepayers Victoria president Jack Davis has slammed the workshops and said they sent the wrong message.
“Teaching about the rules of graffiti, I agree with that, but I don’t think they should be teaching people how to graffiti,” he said.
“Graffiti is a major issue. This is only going to lead to more graffiti.”
But Dewar said it was “ridiculous” for people to be in uproar about the workshops.
He said a spray can was a “fine art tool” and there was “a real technique to using them”.
“There is a massive boom with murals right now. To teach someone that skill means these teenagers can market themselves,” he said.
“It is completely valid.”
Maribyrnong Council has also defended the workshops, saying there was a big difference between street art and illegal tagging.
“Street art can be referred to as graffiti, tagging et cetera but there’s a positive side to graffiti called street art,” community service director Clem Gillings told 3AW last week.
“There is a difference. If the graffiti or tagging is illegal then it is a negative and we remove it.
“(Street art) is in fact a new art form and something the community cannot just ignore and dismiss. There’s some extremely positive examples of street art in Maribyrnong.”
The workshop’s 15 spots were already booked out, which Ms Gillings said demonstrated “a strong interest in this type of activity”.
Community reaction online has been mixed for the workshops.
“If someone paints on someone else’s property it is a violation,” Dennis Murphy said.
“It doesn’t matter whether it is tagging or a beautiful artwork.
“People have property rights. If consent is not obtained, it is morally wrong and an unacceptable behaviour.”
But others said it was a great idea to teach teens about art and to stop them tagging.
Maribyrnong Council launched its StreetWORKS project in 2014 to encourage street art to enliven spaces and discourage graffiti and tagging.
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