Civil liberties

Graffiti: Legalise the ‘Art of the Underclass’

The ALP New South Wales government has tabled new anti-graffiti laws. The proposed laws will punish children caught with spray-paint cans without a “legitimate reason” with up to six months jail. But rarely do politicians mention legal graffiti walls. A Google search reveals that the greater Hunter region is home to about 20 art galleries. However, the region is home to only two legal graffiti walls: the south Newcastle beach wall and a small wall at Wallsend in the city’s west.

Sydney, which is home to roughly 10 times the population of Newcastle, has a similar ratio: a Google search reveals about 100 art galleries in the greater Sydney area. Yet the city is home to just ten legal graffiti walls. Graffiti is such a popular art form that its “epidemic” scale supposedly warrants new police powers and Orwellian surveillance networks. However, designating certain walls as legal spaces for artists to practice their art free from fear of jail and huge fines is off the menu. Why? Is there a shortage of walls? Paintings which come in frames, abstract art and sculpture apparently all warrant the presence of galleries; soccer, netball and cricket players are provided with designated spaces for their sport; so why is graffiti, an art form so popular it can be seen on walls in any big city on the planet, not worthy of legal walls?