Replacing old works with new? Street artists outraged by Vilnius’ war on graffiti

Street artists are outraged by the decision of the Vilnius Municipality to clean the artwork on former legal graffiti sites. The municipality, meanwhile, says artists will be able to paint again after being granted permission.  The municipality is inviting artists to take part in a competition to create new murals reflecting a sustainable Vilnius in the former legal graffiti sites. But the artists say the decision is illogical, as it is not sustainable to wash the paintings of famous artists to paint new ones in the same place. According to Julius Narkūnas, curator of street art projects, the competition also turns street art into a strictly regulated process rather than a spontaneous act of creativity. “It seems to me that a zero graffiti policy is a rather narrow-minded approach by politicians […]. If we say zero graffiti, then anything that is not in agreement with the municipality is illegal and criminal. We cannot put such an equal sign between street art and crime,” he said. “Sometimes street art creates value, and sometimes, of course, it undermines that value, but it is not right to simply take it as an unambiguously bad thing. Now that the Green Capital of Europe competition...