Tuesday October 21, 2008
Provide space for graffiti
TUESDAY TAKE
By ZUKRI VALENTENO
GRAFFITI, as much as it is a nuisance, is also an art. If this counter-culture is properly appreciated and intelligently engaged by the authorities, such as the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, it could be an opportunity to embrace our younger generation into the mainstream.
Engaging them would mean that the authorities allow graffiti artists to showcase their interest in a more organised manner, thus creating a win-win situation - since our youth need the space to express themselves and the authorities provide the avenue.
There should be acceptable rules of engagement to keep our city beautiful even as we cultivate an appreciation for graffiti.
The Kuala Lumpur City Hall could tell them: “It’s okay if you guys want to do this, but let’s do it together, and do it the right way.”
New art in the heart of the city: Graffiti near the Main Post Office in Kuala Lumpur. This approach would be preferable to having graffiti propagated independently, to our annoyance. It would turn what is deemed to be negative into a positive aspect of our city. After all, we can no longer close one eye to this problem, lest it becomes a menace.
In a branding proposal to create affinity for a certain ministry sometime ago, it was suggested that graffiti be recognised as art and that our youngsters be co-opted accordingly under a certain constructive engagement plan.
Micro-managing this issue with their participation is a positive step as any programme - no matter how good the intention - meant for their age-group would be meaningless and a waste of funds if it were devoid of their involvement, which was the case with many government-organised programmes.
The basis for the above-mentioned proposal is that while the authorities provide youngsters with spaces and the required tools to express themselves in specially designated zones (for graffiti), it could work towards arresting the problem, if it was already a problem.
The proposal calls for a strategic partnership with our youth to present graffiti as a manageable feature of the city, at least in Kuala Lumpur, which is already the prime location for that genre of art.
Participants would be free to express themselves as long as their motives did not exploit religious, race or political sensitivities.
Nevertheless, they could still articulate ideas on these subjects - with the smart guidance of the authorities.
We should also be prepared to accept graffiti as part of the fascia of our cities, legally or illegally, so if we had a choice, we should offer the olive branch to our youth rather than allow them to express themselves in a manner that disappoints us.
All this while, the authorities -including ministries that are supposed to deal with issues relating to the younger generation - have been planning programmes from their point of view, instead of the other way around.
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