SAN MARCOS, Texas – Cities across the United States spend millions of dollars on graffiti abatement, paying staff and buying paint to get rid of the eyesore. The city of San Marcos is taking a different approach, borrowing an idea from Philadelphia to keep the vandals away.
Amy Kirwin, with the city of San Marcos, said the project started in 2014 with one four-wall mural in the Children’s Park.
“All four of these walls would actually get graffiti on (them). They were sandblasted off and you could still see ghost graffiti, and it would get tagged again,” she said.
The test worked, and since the storytelling art went up, the graffiti has not returned.
“When there’s that respect for the artist, they don’t tend to put graffiti over the artist’s work,” Kirwin said.
Seventeen murals have been added since then. They are funded through hotel tax money. The city currently has a call for artists to add another mural in a few months.
“It’s more than just abating graffiti. It’s another form of showing public art and also as a tourism attraction,” Kirwin said.
Businesses are also getting behind the movement. Many walls and alleys used to be covered in graffiti scribble, but since the art went up, the graffiti has gone away, said Megan Turbeveile, with Root Cellar Café.
“It says it all. ‘Keep San Marcos beautiful.’ Don’t come to our river and treat it like an ex-girlfriend,” she said. “Don’t trash our river. Don’t trash our streets. Take care of it.”
In the alleys behind the downtown area, businesses have created an open space where artists can create art for free. The area, once covered with graffiti, is now filled with colorful artwork.
The city of San Antonio spends more than $1.4 million on graffiti abatement. It does not have a mural arts program to specifically target graffiti. A city spokesperson said there are no plans in the works for one at this time.