I’ve long loved Camden’s art scene, so it was great to see Phaedra Trethan’s article on Camden winning a Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Grant. But tucked into that article was this line: 

Camden’s proposed project, “A New View,” will turn spaces like the former Reliable Tire factory site — now an empty, trash- and graffiti-blighted block in the city’s Gateway section —  into public art spaces. Items illegally dumped there would be removed, and the space would be transformed into multipurpose spaces hosting art installations and community forums, according to a proposal submitted last year by the city, Cooper’s Ferry Partnership and Rutgers–Camden Center for the Arts.

I’ve been thinking a lot about graffiti lately, partially because the Muse Collaborative is interested in highlighting the graffiti community and I know a few of the folks involved in that organization, partially because Camden announced a “War on Graffiti”, but mostly because I just got back from New Orleans where the city has a long (and sometimes complicated) history of celebrating its art community. 

I had the chance while I was there to visit Studio Be: 

Studio Be is an art gallery. Kind of. It’s housed in a warehouse, features the graffiti-style art (and other installations) of local artist BMike, and has been tremendously successful in the last few years. 

But it didn’t start that way. It started as an illegal art installation in an abandoned public housing project. In fact, the installation came under threat because as it became popular and received attention, there were increased tensions with authorities. 

Eventually, a private funder stepped in and facilitated a move to another abandoned warehouse: 

But it could have gone the other way. This artist might have been labeled a criminal, instead of being able to share this incredible art installation. He might have been a victim of the “war on graffiti” in the same way so many have been a victim of the War on Drugs. 

I can’t wait to see what Camden does with its Bloomberg Public Art Grant. But I also hope the project can help change the city’s approach to graffiti and other hip-hop arts. We don’t need any more wars.

 

Tags: muse collaborative, studio be, war on graffiti