CINCINNATI (WKRC) – The holiday spirit in a local neighborhood has been marred by acts of vandalism that struck at the heart of the community.
Known for its vibrant street art, the neighborhood was left reeling after vandals damaged $8,000 worth of murals over the weekend. Sarah Thomas, executive director of Northside’s Community Development group, NEST, expressed her dismay at the destruction.
“It’s really just a slap in the face to the neighborhood as a whole,” Thomas said. “These are grant-funded artworks that the neighborhood has spent a lot of time and money on. It’s $8,000 worth of local artists’ work damaged. And as you can see behind me, it is a total loss. It’s not really something that can just be touched up.”
The vandalism occurred on Friday night, affecting two of the seven murals funded by NEST in the community’s business district. One of the damaged murals bore the message, “It won’t always be like this,” adding an ironic twist to the incident.
“It’s no secret that we have a huge problem with tagging in the neighborhood,” Thomas said. “There’s a lot of appreciation for art, and I think even high-quality graffiti in certain locations. But the tagging is really out of control.”
Tagging has become pervasive, with walls, windows, hydrants, and sidewalks all bearing the marks of unauthorized graffiti. While some community members appreciate street art, others are concerned about the negative impact of tagging. But the community has mixed feelings about what is vandalism and what is art. A local shop in the business district even sells spray paint and bolt cutters, often used to access restricted areas. It even offers “Street Art” classes.
Trisha Bath, from Northside’s AIDS services nonprofit Caracole, emphasized the importance of distinguishing between artistic expression and vandalism.
“I believe in creative expression, and I think there are a lot of other mediums other than just paint on canvas, but I believe there is a difference between artistic expression and then tagging,” Bath said.
While Bath doesn’t condone the vandalism, she advocates for understanding the motivations behind such actions rather than immediately resorting to punishment.
“I think first and foremost, having compassion and addressing people in a way to find out what may be motivating that behavior would, I think, certainly be something that we would want to do as a first step versus taking any kind of punitive action,” Bath said.
Thomas plans to seek funding to restore the damaged murals and offer a reward for information leading to the vandals’ capture. The Cincinnati Department of Economic and Community Development, which funded the murals with $30,000, stated it is too early to determine if it will finance their restoration.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
