Sometimes the only way to mitigate graffiti is to embrace it.
At least, that’s the idea behind a new art installation at the west (E Denny Way & Broadway) entrance to Capitol Hill Station.
Working with our operations, facilities and safety teams, the Sound Transit Art (STart) group identified stations in the transit system that were highly targeted by graffiti. Cleanup can be costly, so they collaborated to think through a more holistic solution to the problem.
The result? Inviting an established graffiti artist, Danny Melbihess, to participate in a pilot project at one of our 1 Line stations in Seattle.
Melbihess curated a group of graffiti writers (what they're called in the graffiti community) to join him in producing art for the project.
“It’s a different approach than hammering down or painting over,” said STart’s Lucile Chich. “Graffiti has always been a thing. We can’t get rid of it entirely, but we can channel it.”
You make the city your sketchbook.
Melbihess agrees.
“We’ve been writing on walls since the beginning of time,” he said. “The ruins of Pompeii are covered in graffiti. Obviously, this is something that’s not going away.”
So, starting this month, passengers at Capitol Hill will be greeted by a rotating series of graffiti art on two 6x4 Dibond panels.
The panels are painted offsite and will be returned to the artists after being displayed for a month or two at the station.
The first piece in the collection is by Aerub, an artist who has established himself in the graffiti world through his unique style, dedication, and passion for his craft, Melbihess said.
Blending traditional bar-style graffiti with his own illustrative funk, his artistic style is characterized by vibrant colors, intricate lettering, and captivating characters.
“We’re starting on the right foot with this guy,” Melbihess said. “I hope [this project] is successful and I think it will be.”
Seattle has a very well-respected graffiti scene, but a lot of people don’t see graffiti as fine art. This public art installation will bring the form to people in a new way, he said.
“I want people to look at graffiti for what it is and appreciate it for what it is. And maybe they don’t like it, but that’s art,” Melbihess said. “At least we don’t have to discuss the criminality.”
For this project, the artists are all local, and they all have graffiti in their history.
“Some won’t be established artists, but that’s the point,” he said. “The cool thing about this project is that they have a lot of stylistic freedom. They’re all storytellers telling their stories.”
STart hopes to create a long-standing partnership and some goodwill with graffiti writers, Chich said.
“We want art being thought of not just as a pretty thing at our stations, but as part of our approach to keep engaging with the communities after the infrastructure is built and being good neighbors,” she said.
And if it leads to fewer work orders for our facilities team, that’s great too.
“We’ll see if it works,” Melbihess said. “Either way, you’ll have a beautiful piece of art to enjoy.”