SUNDRE — Whether inoffensive graffiti is considered art or vandalism largely comes down to the eye of the beholder, said the mayor.
“One man’s art is another one’s, well, pick a descriptor,” Terry Leslie said with a chuckle when recently contacted.
The mayor said that municipal staff was aware of a big, red numerical eight that had in June been spray painted on the half-bowl at the Sundre Skatepark, and was working to get the tag cleaned off.
Leslie frequently walks with his wife along the adjacent path near the skatepark — located near the Sundre Aquaplex on the south side of Second Avenue N.W. — and said the site has remained largely untouched by such incidents since opening many years ago.
“It is remarkable that there’s never any vandalism (there),” he said.
“So here we go, apparently there’s either vandalism or art today,” he added, when asked about a community social media discussion on the subject.
However, the location is an important factor, as the same symbol has also been spray painted on private property, including the wall of a business.
“The vandalism stuff that takes place though, it’s illegal,” said Leslie.
But the skatepark could potentially be an exception that serves as a canvas for artists to creatively express themselves, provided of course there was community support, he said.
While some residents were upset by the graffiti, others pointed out at least it wasn’t crude, profane language and that adding “SK” in front of the number would turn it into “SK8”. One resident even suggested the idea of considering skatepark art.
“The town should organize a day when artists can go and paint the whole thing,” posted Colin McNutt, whose comment garnered some support.
Council is always happy to consider interesting ideas from the community, said Leslie.
“If there was an opportunity to do something that would recognize and channel the kind of artistic talents that there are, I think council would certainly entertain that, and work with anybody who would bring that forward, or the business community,” Leslie said.
“But council doesn’t take on that kind of a responsibility. The role of council is basically governance, decision making, and entertaining requests from the public."
Council, he added, is always receptive to people or groups who are willing to organize and work on creative community initiatives.
“That’s always encouraged. We love it when the community has great ideas.”
Asked about some places that dedicate a special wall or space for graffiti artists to use, recognizing they’ll tag something somewhere anyway, he said that also would hinge on being community-driven.
“If there are council members that want to take on a task like that, then work with local artists or community people, if there are business owners that have a showcase wall that they’d like to see done,” then such a project could potentially be feasible, he said.
“The schools (already) take on the opportunity to decorate the pavement in front of the high school every year. Those are kind of community traditions that grow because people have some really creative ways to channel the willingness and the wish to beautify the community.
“We have to make sure that it fits with the community values that we hold dear. And certainly supporting the youth, that’s a value we all support.”
But while there’s no shortage of good ideas circulating on social media, someone still needs to take the torch, champion the cause and follow due process, he said, adding council won’t lead the charge but could, upon weighing pros and cons as well as consulting the community, get behind it.
That being said, the mayor pointed out “the skatepark is a prime example of a project that was put together by volunteers who came forward.
“There was a partnership, some funding opportunities, there was the town taking it over to maintain after it was built and landscaped," he said.
"And the town also takes responsibility for the vandalism and the damage and the illegal activity and the liability that may happen if the ground shifts. So the town does take responsibility for those things. But the town is really happy to work with the great ideas that people have.”
Cpl. Joe Mandel of the Sundre RCMP department said the detachment had not received any complaints of graffiti.
