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
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
NEW 'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Canadian couple among tourists on sinking sailing boat tour abroad
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their “extremely dangerous” experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
An Ontario senior called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Accused of burglary at stepmother's home, U.S. senator says she wanted her father's ashes: charges
A Minnesota state senator and former broadcast meteorologist told police that she broke into her stepmother's home because her stepmother refused to give her items of sentimental value from her late father, including his ashes, according to burglary charges filed Tuesday.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.