Vancouver’s Infamous Street
Art
by Howe Sim,
published by Design Flavr, Aug 2008
As with any other large
metropolitan centre, Vancouver is home to an enormous collection of graffiti. While
it is for the most part despised by officials and the target of clean-up crews,
many citizens look at it as a form of expression and a fascinating and
ever-changing art form. In addition to the many popular (and illegal) hot spots
for graffiti such as the downtown core and the drug-infested east side, there
are several locations around the Lower Mainland where legal graffiti walls have
been established. The city has even created an annual mural/graffiti
competition offering prize money, and there are a number of live graffiti
painting demonstrations put on throughout the year. On our recent trip to B.C.,
I went out in search of the best of the West Coast’s infamous street art, and
encountered many elaborate and gorgeous pieces. The following photographs were
taken in the city’s underbelly, around Gastown and in the Main & Cordova
areas.
