Street artists are outraged by the decision of the Vilnius Municipality to clean the artwork on former legal graffiti sites. The municipality, meanwhile, says artists will be able to paint again after being granted permission.
The municipality is inviting artists to take part in a competition to create new murals reflecting a sustainable Vilnius in the former legal graffiti sites. But the artists say the decision is illogical, as it is not sustainable to wash the paintings of famous artists to paint new ones in the same place.
According to Julius Narkūnas, curator of street art projects, the competition also turns street art into a strictly regulated process rather than a spontaneous act of creativity.
“It seems to me that a zero graffiti policy is a rather narrow-minded approach by politicians […]. If we say zero graffiti, then anything that is not in agreement with the municipality is illegal and criminal. We cannot put such an equal sign between street art and crime,” he said.
“Sometimes street art creates value, and sometimes, of course, it undermines that value, but it is not right to simply take it as an unambiguously bad thing. Now that the Green Capital of Europe competition is going on, it seems to me that the graffiti removal and the repainting of the walls is the opposite of the message of how green Vilnius is,” Narkūnas added.
Last year, the Vilnius Municipality decided to remove legal graffiti walls. At the time, it was argued that the walls did not contribute to reducing vandalism in the city. The artists’ community says it understands the need for public order, but the city is not just someone else’s property and pre-planned order.
According to street artist Pijus Čeikauskas, the municipality’s representatives do not value street art and its importance for the city’s culture. Graffiti artists also feel a lack of dialogue and cooperation, as decisions are often made without taking into account their opinions.
Rūta Pilkytė, adviser to the mayor of Vilnius, says that artists can legally realise their creative ideas in public spaces, but it is necessary to obtain a permit in advance.
“If you have an artistic idea, there is a possibility to simply negotiate with the owner. If it’s visible to the public, let’s say it’s a busy street where there’s a lot of traffic, but you can see that it’s the perfect place for your idea, then there’s the possibility to get the owner’s permission, and then go to the municipality, fill out some paperwork, and get approval for that work,” Pilkytė said.
“We need to go through this kind of agreement and say that both sides are satisfied – both the person who is making the artwork and the person who maybe sees it every day,” she added.
Artists wishing to paint on the walls of Vilnius can apply to the municipality for permission. Information on how to do this is available on the municipality’s website.
LRT English
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
