Nottinghamshire Indymedia

Events

Startpage

> UK Indymedia
> Global Indymedia

> Guidelines
> Chatroom
> About Us
> Security

> Projects
> On Ya Mobile
> Local Weather

Support Us

We are an all volunteer collective and receive no regular funding. Please consider donating.


Local Events

This events wire is no longer being updated. Please use the new site to publicise events.

More local events on Veggies/Sumac Diary


Freedom of Information

Search archives

Topics

Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista

Kollektives

Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World

Other UK IMCs
Bristol/South West
London
Northern Indymedia
Scotland

IMCs


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech

Nottingham City Council to end legal graffiti

Notts IMC + councilkicker | 12.02.2010 19:03 | Repression | Social Struggles

According to local rag the Evening Post, Nottingham City Council has "Nottingham City Council has banned large-scale graffiti art to take place at youth clubs. Those affected will reportedly be The Arches, Russell Youth Club and St Ann's Adventure Playground. It is not specified in the article what law or procedure has been used to do this.

The alleged ground for this ban is that legal graffiti encourages illegal graffiti or gives an appearance of neglect. This is based on the so-called "broken window theory."

While the ban appears to be restricted to council-run youth clubs, this is not clear and there is some concern that the ban might extend further, possibly to private graffiti displays (like that on the side of OhMyGosh records on Mansfield Road). Even if it's scope is tightly restricted, the removal of a legal space for young people to express themselves has been strongly criticised.

On the newswire: Graffiti art with consent banned in Nottingham | Is the writing on the wall for Cllr.Collins?

Nottingham grafitti showcase: OhMyGosh Graffiti / Spray Art Session Finished | OhMyGosh Charity Live Graffiti Art Session Street Party: Pix 1 | OhMyGosh Charity Live Graffiti Art Session Street Party: Pix 2 | Spray Art at the ASBO - Pictures | City Arts, Graffiti Art :: Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham | Forest Fields Youth Club: Artwork and Graffiti 1 | Forest Fields Youth Club: Artwork and Graffiti 2 | Graffiti Artists in the Arboretum, Nottingham

Links: Questionmarc | Tash: Graffiti and wall arts (Flickr page)



"Broken window theory" was developed in the 1980's by criminologists James Q Wilson and George Kelling. They argued that if a window in a building is smashed and nobody comes to repair it, the perception will be created that nobody cares, graffiti will appear, rubbish will be dumped and the likelihood of serious crime will increase. The inference drawn from this is that to reduce crime, minor issues like broken windows or graffiti - whether legal or illegal - need to be dealt with quickly to halt an otherwise inevitable descent into criminality.

There is little empirical evidence to support the theory, but the Post do report council claims that "high levels of graffiti has often been found in areas near to where the legal graffiti has been allowed to take place. As a result, it has created "a threatening aura of neglect and danger." It is obvious that this is a problematic argument. Two of the sites mentioned in the report are in St Anns an area which would be expected to have a higher than average incidence of graffiti for reasons that have little to do with the presence of a youth centre.

Leader of the council Jon Collins is unrepentant, insisting "Graffiti is something that residents find annoying and offensive. It is not feasible to say that graffiti is OK here but not there, so the city council is clearly stating that we will not tolerate graffiti anywhere in Nottingham."

The move is particularly ironic given the council's recent attempts to promote Notingham as a city of culture with the attention focused on the recently opened Nottingham Contemporary gallery and the New Art Exchange a "dedicated cultural facility for Black contemporary arts." Now budding artists who happen to have chosen graffiti as their medium will have no option other than to do their work illegally, where it may not be wanted.

The council's move has not gone unchallenged. Professional graffiti artist Steve Dilks has been vocally critical and has launched a petition against the council's decision. It is available to sign in his shop, the Montana art and fashion shop, in Goose Gate, Hockley and can also be signed virtually at store@montanashopnottingham.com or dilk@montanashopnottingham.com.

Notts IMC + councilkicker

Download this article in pdf format >>
Email this article to someone >>
Submit an addition or make a quick comment on this article >>

More street art

15.02.2010 16:37

Sumac Mural by Deam
Sumac Mural by Deam

There is no doubt that there are some talented artists in Nottingham for whom the spray can is their paintbrush and walls their canvas. Many areas have benefited from a splash of colour adding interest to an otherwise blank space.

More example from Nottingham street artist Deam & Oxygen Thievez Graff Collective can be found at:

Veggies Trailer Gets A New Paint Job
 https://notts.indymedia.org.uk/articles/35

Pat


Oh dear- another legacy of Labour's over caustios nanny state

18.06.2010 10:44

i struggle to see how the creative mediums of our current youth nation cause or adhere to the beliefs of this ' broken window theroy'. it is shamefull that simplistic and harmles self expression shoud be deemed illegal - removing even more leisure occupations for our occupationally deprived youths. dare i say that the removal of even more safe and easily monitored occupations for our youths will lead to even more solitary, pc based activities so widely criticised.

sammy