The New South Wales Government is tackling graffiti vandalism across the state, with the Graffiti Management Program awarding seven councils with grants to transform their public spaces, as well as opening a new round of grant applications.
The objectives of the Graffiti Management Program include preventing and minimising graffiti vandalism and reducing the social, environmental and economic impact of graffiti vandalism.
The successful recipients for the most recent Graffiti Grants Management Program are the Northern Beaches Council, Canterbury-Bankstown Council, City of Ryde Council, Sutherland Shire Council, Hornsby Council, Shellharbour Council and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council.
The Graffiti Management Grant will support local councils to undertake graffiti management projects, including the opportunity to expand on past projects relating to:
- Area beautification such as:
- Creating community art programs or initiatives such as installing community murals to deter offenders and improve streetscapes
- Space activation projects such as:
- Lighting installation, applying anti-graffiti coatings to walls and other community activities to reinvigorate underused spaces and prevent crime through environmental design
- Planting trees or other vegetation to make graffiti-prone walls more difficult to access and less attractive to offenders
Attorney General, Mark Speakman, said the Graffiti Management Program was set up to fund the removal of unwanted graffiti and the activation of areas with street art.
“We know that revitalising unused spaces increases perceived public safety, creates community pride and lowers the incidence of crime such as graffiti. However, a ‘one-size fits all’ approach isn’t always the best response,” Mr Speakman said.
“The New South Wales Government’s Graffiti Management Program draws on local knowledge and expertise to build tailored projects for local councils, with the aim of reducing incidents of graffiti,” Mr Speakman said.
“Great street art is a legitimate way to beautify and revitalise public spaces. It can bring communities together, mark significant moments in time, inform, inspire and lead people to think in new and different ways about a variety of subjects.
“The projects will all add to the local environment in a way that the community can enjoy, create opportunities to bring people together and even boost the local economy.”
