Legal graffiti wall could be here to stay in Sudbury
A legal graffiti program that started as a pilot project in summer of 2018 could become a permanent fixture in downtown Sudbury.
Up Here, an urban art and music festival, requested the pilot project so artists could have a space to legally do graffiti. Not only is it something that has benefited artists, but festival officials said it's also a great scouting tool for talent.
“What the legal graffiti wall has allowed us to do is have our ears to the ground and see all sorts of great local artists who have a space to be able to scale up their work," said Up Here organizer Christian Pelletier.
"For example this year Sarah Dempsey, who’s a local artist who did a new mural above the laughing Buddha. She … did a power up box and then we saw her work go up on the legal graffiti wall where she was trying to scale up her work and when we saw that her work can really scale up nicely, we offered her a bigger wall.”
At its meeting Monday, a planning committee report detailed options for keeping the wall as a permanent place for legal graffiti, and also expand the program by creating a permitting process for legal graffiti walls to be added around the city.
“Sometimes some of the graffiti that happens is unfortunately difficult for the landowner to be able to correct because it's high up on a ladder or different things like that, so maybe an application towards making it a legal graffiti wall then there wouldn’t be a bylaw infraction,” said Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre.
According to the report, the wall has stopped some illegal tagging, and has mostly been a positive outlet for artists, young and old.
“The success of this project has really just proved that a legal graffiti wall works and we knew it would work," Pelletier said.
"But the pilot project just really made it work and now there’s a desire to do more, which is something we’re really excited about ... more legal graffiti walls throughout the city, so not just downtown, but to do some maybe in some outlying communities."
The proposal for keeping the legal graffiti wall will be presented at an upcoming city council meeting. If approved, Lapierre said issues such as how often the wall should be painted over to create a clean slate will be discussed.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A step forward': New screening criteria for sperm donors takes effect
Canadians looking to grow their families with the assistance of sperm or egg donations should soon have more options for donors as the federal health agency does away with longstanding restrictions criticized as discriminatory.
Ontario Provincial Police arrest 64 suspects in child sexual exploitation investigation
Ontario Provincial Police say 64 suspects are facing a combined 348 charges in connection with a series of child sexual exploitation investigations that spanned the province.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his head more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Case against ex-Mountie charged with helping China can go ahead in Quebec, judge says
A Quebec court judge has ruled that the case against a former RCMP officer charged with helping China conduct foreign interference can go ahead in the province.
Steve Albini, legendary producer for Nirvana, the Pixies and an alternative rock pioneer, dies at 61
Steve Albini, an alternative rock pioneer and legendary producer who shaped the musical landscape through his work with Nirvana, the Pixies, PJ Harvey and more, has died. He was 61.
Ippei Mizuhara, ex-interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani, will plead guilty in betting case
The former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to bank and tax fraud in a sports betting case in which prosecutors allege he stole nearly US$17 million from the Japanese baseball player to pay off debts, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Watch fighter jet pilots pummel fake enemy ship off coast of Philippines
The United States and Philippines held annual joint-training drills just off the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast on Wednesday. Military forces sunk a 'mock' enemy warship – the BRP Lake Caliraya, which was a decommissioned tanker made in China.