Toronto Creates Panel to Consider the Value of Graffiti

Graffiti has long been divisive - some see it as a crime; others say it should be curated. Toronto has created a panel to debate these issues, the Art Newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The five-person group is comprised of city staff members with backgrounds in the arts, urban design and architecture. At the first session, on Nov. 2, the panelists considered nine sites. Property owners were appealing notices of violation for “markings” on their buildings.

Toronto's council has approved what is known as Graffiti Alley, a series of colorful streets near City Hall - a move commended by David Liss, the director of Toronto's Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, who also has some background in street art.

But the city maintains that graffiti is vandalism. “Even if it's Picasso,” said Elyse Parker, an official who is leading Toronto's graffiti crackdown, “you're not allowed to paint on other people's walls.”