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It still happens, but not as much.
I think it’s totally fair to complain about tags and vandalism that don’t add to the beauty of a space, but the red tape around creating art, especially when there’s permission, is really unnecessary and I think is to the detriment of our arts and culture ecosystem in Ottawa.
What do you think has led to the increasing acceptance of this kind of art in Ottawa?
When you look at other world-class cities … their graffiti and their murals are a tourist destination. There are a lot of cities in Latin America, Mexico City especially, where there’s just public art everywhere — mosaic art, installations, murals, graffiti — and it’s beautiful and it’s stunning and people go to see that.
The existence of public murals and public art adds so much character to a city, and I think that for a long time, Ottawa was missing out on that and the municipal politicians and policymakers are now in a position where we’re recognizing that murals and graffiti are an attraction.
(Also,) as millennials are in their mid-to-late 30s and early 40s and we’re coming into these positions of power and influence in our communities and in our professional spheres, the attitude that we have towards graffiti and public art and a lot of different cultural issues is now being taken more seriously, and we have a voice at the table to influence this change.
To your earlier point, there’s now an obvious commercial incentive to allowing this kind of art in cities — it’s a tourism draw, it draws people to different neighbourhoods. Do you think it’s frustrating to people who’ve been involved with this artistic community for years?
