ACT Government appoints coordinator to manage local graffiti and street art

The ACT Government has appointed a graffiti coordinator, Louise Emberson, to liaise with artists, students, businesses and the broader public to improve how graffiti is managed.

Part of an ACT Government to increase the number of public murals and street art throughout the city, Emberson’s role includes not only the identification of communal street art sites, but the removal of graffiti from public assets. The recruitment process for such a person was under way.

Welcoming her role, Emberson, who has a background in arts and working with the community, explained “one of my roles will be to review the 23 legal graffiti sites and identify new sites across the ACT.

“The sites, which are primarily underpasses and spillways, were recently reviewed to ensure they were in areas that were safe for artists, while also minimising impact on local residents.

“Having legal graffiti sites provides an opportunity for artists to improve their skills without engaging in antisocial or criminal activity by illegally painting graffiti on public and private assets.

“My work will involve liaising closely with artists, businesses and the general community to identify other possible graffiti sites as well as working with contractors to remove illegal graffiti.”

The appointment of a graffiti coordinator was one of the outcomes of a roundtable held last year with local artists and stakeholders.

Manager of Planning and Programs with Territory and Municipal Services (TAMS), Patrick Nolan, said removing illegal graffiti is costly to the ACT Government but having young offenders involved in the ACT Restorative Justice program has produced positive outcomes over the past year.

Nolan stated “illegal graffiti costs the ACT Government over $500,000 a year to remove..

“The ACT Restorative Justice program gives young offenders the opportunity to meet with community members, accept responsibility for their own actions and consider the impact on the community.

“We’re committed to better managing graffiti – and Louise’s appointment will demonstrate this by working with artists to provide more opportunities to develop their skills at the right locations.

“Work will also involve reviewing the ACT Government’s graffiti management strategy to make sure we have the right framework in place. The updated strategy will again focus on five key elements for addressing graffiti vandalism, namely prevention; removal; diversion; community awareness and education; and legislation.”

Last year, TAMS approved four murals – the Dickson shops laneway, the bowl at Belconnen skate park, the Melrose Drive stormwater drain and Eddison skate park – for artists who approached the ACT Government looking to showcase their work.

Images: Mural at the Civic skate park (top) and graffti at Canberra High School (below).

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