Art project cuts unwanted graffiti

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

Brandi Hebbes of the Strathmore Regional Art Collective (SRAC) came forward to Strathmore town council on May 6 with a proposed graffiti project.
“A couple of weeks ago, Dave Rimes, Parks Supervisor for the Town of Strathmore, came to SRAC with concerns regarding dealing with graffiti, specifically the graffiti on the backside of dugouts at the ball diamonds on the south end of Kinsmen Park,” said Hebbes. “Since art was a solution, SRAC was more than happy to help out.”
Strathmore Regional Art Collective has put a plan in place to prevent the unwanted graffiti around town.
“We thought of the two-pronged approach involving putting art in the graffiti areas and also putting up graffiti walls where kids would be welcome to paint. As an artist, this seems like a great idea to me,” said Hebbes. “However, since submitting that request to town council, we have been able to meet with Constable Shannon White from the Crime Reduction Unit of the RCMP here in town.”
Hebbes was impressed with what White brought to the table for the project.
“She did some very thorough research, which she brought to the meeting on the success of graffiti walls in many other cities in North America,” said Hebbes. “The walls by most accounts were a resounding failure.”
Therefore, the Strathmore RCMP would not like a graffiti wall.
“However, in this meeting we did discuss a new approach … that of developing programs to clean up existing graffiti as it occurs, in an effort to curb more graffiti,” said Hebbes. “SRAC is pretty excited to spearhead these initiatives and we still think that installing art in the graffiti areas is still a very valid idea.”
The hope is to educate young kids before they decide get involved in graffiti.
“We hope to target the young early on, before they feel the need to turn to vandalism to belong to something,” said Hebbes.
The cost for the projects will be in the range of $25,000- $100,000.
She was hopeful that the town would get on board with their proposal.
“At this point, SRAC is presenting this proposal to town council for consideration. In the short term, we’re only hoping that town council will approve the concept in principle and supply SRAC with a letter to that effect, so we may submit this letter with their application,” said Hebbes. “At a later date, SRAC would propose a motion to town council for consideration that we would be permitted to put outdoor art in problem graffiti sites, with the art projects approved on a case-by-case basis in accordance with specific proposals.”
Councillor Denise Peterson put a motion on the floor to provide a letter of support to the Strathmore Regional Art Collective, as she has a bit of background having been in meetings with them.
“I was lucky to be at the meeting with Dave Rimes when he first talked about problems of graffiti and heard later about the issues the RCMP articulated. It’s been a great journey to learn to understand how negative graffiti can impact a community and how positive art is in the same way,” said Peterson.
“There’s a lot of compelling research that talks about what Brandi has presented here that young children participate in community-based art projects and show the good of their work.”
Peterson believes this will only enhance Strathmore’s arts scene.
“I think there is tremendous potential to bring many artists and utilize our schools as well in the same area. I think it’s a great plan and a tremendous benefit to the community,” said Peterson.