gentrification, and that “between 2000 and 2015, the neighborhood saw a decrease in about 1,000 Black households, while the White population grew by nearly 160 percent.” She writes how the increase in the white population coincided with several new shops, and pricey restaurants and cafes. According to the Richmond Mural Project, the murals found in these neighborhoods were painted between 2013 and 2014 and Komp’s article shows that housing costs grew the most in this area around the same time frame. This was an intentional way of attracting the slowly growing middle-class clientele and boosting the public perception of these neighborhoods. It is important to recognize that murals are still a very powerful art form and can shine light on important social justice issues such as the interactive mural “Dreaming of a World Without Youth Prisons” in Downtown Richmond. The mural was designed by local highschool students in collaboration with several community organizations that
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empower youth and advocate for alternatives to incarceration.This installment demonstrates how the use of commissioned street art can be used as a tool to empower the local community. The bottom line is, in the creative city that Richmond has become, artists need to be aware of the intentions and consequences of street art initiatives. Just as gentrification takes away the beloved spaces of a community, mural artists often take away from the space that graffiti artists have to express themselves. Murals cannot replace graffiti, as their origins and history are completely different. While murals are often associated with beautification and revitalization, graffiti continues to be an illegal act of rebellion -the voice of the oppressed. The best example of this right now is the monument of Confederate general, Robert E Lee, which in its current state has been named by the New York Times Style Magazine as the most influential piece of protest art since World War II. What was once just another
metallic glorification of white supremacy has been completely consumed in graffiti and tags, all united in the common messages that Black Lives Matter and that white supremacy must be dismantled. The graffiti that makes the statue the work of art that it is is not meant to be pleasing to a specific socioeconomic class, it is meant to speak the truth in a place where it has been overlooked for centuries. The graffiti covered monument proves that painting a mural and tagging a wall are incomparable. Often murals are manufactured to appeal to the creative upper and middle classes, while graffiti is raw and untempered. It is the fearless voice of the oppressed and continues to appear despite not fitting gentrified agendas. That tag on the wall means that despite the racist policing and the gentrification, their voices are still out there, and these graffiti artists will continue to have a space on the city’s canvas, despite efforts to silence them.
End
5/10/21 4:35 PM