Graffiti artists have been painting the town black, blue and every other hue in recent months - targeting buildings, schools, walls, fences, road signs, underpasses and bridges.

The rising wave of graffiti has spread into formerly “clean” areas like Kewarra Beach and Port Douglas, with police also noticing a sharp increase in traditional “hot spots” such as Edmonton and Manoora.

But in a new strategy designed to beat the growing graffiti problem, Cairns Regional Council has decided to work with – rather than against – the young tag artists who like to leave their mark on the town under cover of night.

It has just adopted a revised Graffiti Management Policy in which “council recognises aerosol art as a legitimate form of art”.

It has also decided to “provide opportunities where possible for aerosol artists to express themselves safely and legally”.

The news has been welcomed by Cairns contemporary artist, youth arts worker and graffiti artist extraordinaire Daniel Wallwork.

“I think it’s fantastic,” he said of the revised council policy.

“It’s opened up a whole new scope for art for young people in Cairns.

"It’s an older, recognised art form now and to have that recognised by council is significant. It changes the way the dialogue is written.”

Mr Wallwork said it would also change the public perception of graffiti artists.

“Most of us aren’t vandals. We just want to do art in a safe environment in the community.

"Most of us are over 20-years-old, we’ve got jobs, families. We’re not necessarily people who do the sides of buildings.”

He said the unsightly scrawls left on some buildings – such as those targeted recently in the Smithfield industrial area – were usually the work of 13 to 17-year-olds who were either trying to impress their peers or had “had a skinful of alcohol”.

Mr Wallwork said many recent examples of such graffiti were the work of a “Gold Coast guy who has already left town”.

Mr Wallwork said council should consider allowing skate parks to be painted by graffiti artists because many were doing it anyway, without realising it was against the law.

“They’re writing on a surface that has already been defaced, but don’t realise it’s illegal.”

He said specially built walls at skate parks would also allow young artists to get creative – and they could be freshly painted every six months, so the artwork could begin again.

“It’s part of youth culture and it’s not going to go away. It’s better to be positive about it and harness it, rather than totally prohibit it. That creative energy can be channelled into urban beautification, rather than vandalism,” Mr Wallwork said.

Meanwhile, Cairns Regional Council is also looking at following the example of a Tableland regional authority and purchasing a graffiti removal trailer, which can be made available to members of the community.

District Crime Prevention Coordinator Sergeant Caroline Barker of Cairns said free paint was also available to local residents, body-corporates and business owners wanting to get rid of graffiti on their property.

Under Operation CleanUp, people can report graffiti to police, collect a voucher from Sgt Barker and get a free litre of paint from a paint shop.

“But they must report it to police first, so the paint shop knows it’s legitimate,” Sgt Barker said.

 

 

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