Dozens of community artists wielding paint brushes and spray cans celebrated street art at the 18th Annual Urban Youth Arts Festival on Saturday. The festival, organized by Precita Eyes, invited artists of all ages to express themselves on 1,000 square feet of portable wall space at Precita Park on Precita Avenue near Folsom Street. Like street art itself, the canvases are ephemeral—they’re recycled from year to year.
Creativity Flows at Graffiti Arts Festival
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This is not art, this is blight.
Like many European countries, Bay Area needs more LEGAL WALLS for freedom of speech, then there will be less vandalism.
Did they raise money to pay people back for the cost “street art” removal from their homes?
We also pay an extra $20M in taxes per year for the city to fight graffiti vandalism.
This money could go instead to helping people who need it.
To see this glorified in a festival is horrible.
Joe,
there’s a big difference between “vandalism” and art. Random tagging on city walls where there not authorized, especially with just a marker or single spray can, is vandalism. If there is a permit, and the artist takes the diligent time to make an actual work of art is NOT vandalism. Festivals like these provide youth with an outlet, a wing for them to stay out of that sort of trouble.
I honestly suggest you visit the nonprofit’s website, or their visitor’s center on 24th & Harrison to find out more about these distinctions, and to learn about why this stuff is art before blasting your ignorance. They even do graffiti removal themselves.
Oh, I see. so if we don’t provide these “youth” with an “outlet” on the public dime, then they will go out and mug old ladies, and it will all be our fault?