u district murals

U-district, Seattle, Wa

The murals in Seattle's University district were painted over the course of four weeks, by 40 young artists. The organizer, Jill Rothberger, got permission from the City to paint the north part of the underpass. As more volunteers joined in the painting, more space was needed, and just to the south was another stretch of unadorned grey concrete. So they started painting there as well.

Near completion of the piece, two City departments put in objections: no permission had been issued for the south wall, and some paintings on the north wall looked “too much like graffiti”. When pressed that graffiti style is not a crime in itself, Dave Chew of Department of Transportation said he had no flexibility when it comes to graffiti.

In the english language, graffiti is the word used to describe all illegal use of paint and markers on property.

However, the City came to a decision that the wall should stay as it is. The appropriate permissions were granted, and two years later, the wall stands.

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