SANTA PAULA, Calif. - A new concept is aiming to help the graffiti problem in Santa Paula and it centers around adding more graffiti.
“There was graffiti on the brick above the building there,” said Santa Paula Mayor Clint Garman.
He is well aware of the graffiti seen in all parts of his city.
“Graffiti is a little bit of an issue,” said Garman. “We see it all over the place.”
Garman is not only the mayor, he's is also the owner of Garman's Pub on Main Street. He says having unwanted markings infuriates local business owners.
“It is something that is not attractive, we have a great graffiti department, going around making sure it is cleaned up on a daily basis,” said Garman.
“There is a lot of frustration in the community on why this continues to happen,” said Ikani Taumoepeau, assistant City Manager of Santa Paula.
Santa Paula city crews are quick to paint over graffiti, but they are having to do it more frequently. Which meant it was time for a new idea.
“I threw out a post on social media, on instagram, and it was basically saying, ‘taggers if you really want to do some good art come talk to me, we are looking for some graffiti, some street art some nice murals in town,” said Taumoepeau.
Murals are nothing new in Santa Paula. More than six can be seen around town, each with significant meaning.
“The great thing about Santa Paula is, these art murals don’t get tagged on,” said Taumoepeau.
A new park is going up on the Eastside next year. The City hopes to display new graffiti art there. No one expects this to be a quick fix.
“I do not think we will stop it, but we will start the discussion that hasn’t been happening, and by starting the discussion and bringing other people to the table,” said Taumoepeau. “I think we start moving in the right direction.”
“It is creative,” said Garman. “I think its fantastic that we can take graffiti artist and those who are street artist and put it to good use. There are some talented people out there, and we could actually turn that negative into a positive. That would be fantastic.”
For those who are interested in the art opportunity, contact ikani.t@spcity.org
