Organizers of a Downtown Eastside urban art celebration say they had to turn to the public to help make their second annual event happen.
The 2024 Clean Lines Graffiti Jam runs from Aug. 3 to Aug. 5 in the 133 West Pender Street lane.
It allows street artists to test their talents on Vancouver’s only legal graffiti wall instead of leaving their tags on storefronts.
“I think it’s a great thing and it definitely makes the neighbourhood feel more alive,” event organizer Kyle Shipman told Global News Thursday.
Street Artist Jamie Hardy, a.k.a. Smokey Devil, said the jam inspires young artists to enrich the cultural landscape without the fear of being arrested.
“There (are) a lot of people too that don’t want criminal records at the same time and the people that are just starting out too,” he said. “They shouldn’t go out and just ruin the city when they’re just getting good.”
The City of Vancouver sponsored the inaugural graffiti jam in 2023, which drew thousands of people over two days.
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Organizers received a $5,000 city grant this year but said it amounted to a fraction of the 2023 funding.
“It just meant that we had to do everything from scratch,” said Shipman.
Shipman said they turned to crowdfunding, set up a GoFundMe and solicited sponsors to save the festival.
“We managed to do it,” he said. “It was just a lot more cold calling and work on our end than last year.”
In a statement to Global News, the City of Vancouver said along with the $5,000 Community Placemaking Program grant, it is supporting the event with a blank canvas wall that can be used by artists, and “a full 3-day laneway closure in the event area.”
Street artist Trey Helten, who co-organized the event, said continued financial support for the event would go a long way to ending Vancouver’s reputation as a no-fun city.
“Let’s keep artistic spaces going, let’s keep fostering culture, let’s support people to do things that are free and keep them out of trouble,” Helten told Global News.
All-City Athletics owner Jordan Bowers said the initiative has been a game changer in terms of fighting bad graffiti with good graffiti.
Although his boxing gym’s official address is on West Hastings Street, Bowers said the front door, adorned with graffiti of a lucky cat in boxing gloves, is in the lane.
“Our entrance is in the alley so people sometimes feel it’s a little intimating to walk down but with the art, it’s really created a vibrant piece of community for us.”
Hastings Crossing BIA executive director Landon Hoyt said the graffiti jam has been a welcome addition to the Downtown Eastside.
“All of the businesses and property owners along this alley have actually come together and said yes, we welcome this sort of art on our back facades,” Hoyt told Global News. “I think that shows how much it’s valued.”
“Who knows Vancouver could have the next Banksy one day,” added Helten.