Councilman’s plan calls for structured graffiti

By Brian Boyce
The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE May 14, 2008 11:04 pm

— One person’s graffiti is the art of another, and if some local officials get their way, the talents of local vandals could soon be put to better use.
City councilman Neil Garrison, D-5th, introduced the “Graffiti Park Concept” to the Terre Haute Parks and Recreation Department’s board of directors Wednesday afternoon, offering a plan to allow structured graffiti along a segment of the Heritage Trail near Twigg Rest Area.
“Kids and their parents can give me more info,” Garrison said, adding that one potential block in planning could be those doing graffiti being afraid of prosecution if they identify themselves.
“If you talk to some of the young kids today, they can probably tell you who’s doing it, though,” Garrison said, noting that many of the teens involved photograph their work and display it openly on Web sites such as MySpace.com.
Board members Nancy Cummins and Richard Shagley agreed that getting youth to come forward and help with the planning could be difficult, but the large, blank concrete walls in that area would provide a much more desirable canvas than downtown buildings.
“They like the art to be seen, so this is a good location,” Shagley said.
Garrison said the goal is to give teens a legitimate place to do their painting, and therefore cut down on what he said seems to be a growing problem downtown.
He also noted in the six-page plan he submitted that graffiti is already an issue at the Heritage Trail location, so getting people to use that area should not be a problem.
Current neighborhood watch tactics don’t seem to be effective, as many of the vandals work between 1 and 4 a.m., he said.
Garrison said his next step is to seek permission to use the overpass abutment on the trail, and then take the Parks Board to the site for an informal meeting, and eventually host an initial kickoff party or graffiti day and art competition open to the public.
Garrison said individuals interested in contributing ideas to the project can e-mail neil.garrison@terrehaute.in.gov.
Brian Boyce can be reached at (812) 231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.