# Legal wall > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Legal_wall > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Legal_wall.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_wall > Source revision: 1351336831 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Type of graffiti wall}} '''Legal walls''' or '''open walls,'''{{Cite book |last=Centea |first=Smaranda |url=https://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-205474 |title=Public space negotiation around Stockholm's legal graffiti walls – an environmental justice perspective |publisher=Stockholm University |year=2022}} are public spaces where [graffiti](/source/graffiti) is allowed by any member of [the public](/source/Public). Legal walls started in [Scandinavia](/source/Scandinavia), and the first legal wall was likely the ''klotterplanket'' ("scribble board") in [Stockholm](/source/Stockholm) which opened in 1968. The wall was repainted white every morning by a civil servant.{{Cite journal |last1=Kimvall |first1=Jacob |last2=Hannerz |date=2019-01-01 |title="Keep Fighting Malmö" – Graffiti and the negotiations of interests and control at Open walls |url=https://www.academia.edu/38832390 |journal=Creating the City. Identity, Memory and Participation |via=Semantic Scholar}} They are still most common in Scandinavia, as well as Australia{{Cite journal |last=McAuliffe |first=Cameron |date=2013-01-24 |title=Legal Walls and Professional Paths: The Mobilities of Graffiti Writers in Sydney |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098012468894 |journal=Urban Studies |language=en |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=518–537 |doi=10.1177/0042098012468894 |bibcode=2013UrbSt..50..518M |issn=0042-0980|url-access=subscription }} where there are over thirty legal walls in [Canberra](/source/Canberra) alone.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2023-05-01 |title=Culture in a can: Canberra's legal graffiti walls |url=https://www.act.gov.au/our-canberra/latest-news/2023/january/culture-in-a-can-canberras-legal-graffiti-walls |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=ACT Government |language=en}} However, legal walls exist around the world.{{Cite web |title=Free-for-all graffiti wall unveiled in Sarkandaugava, Rīga |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/culture/art/free-for-all-graffiti-wall-unveiled-in-sarkandaugava-riga.a481026/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=eng.lsm.lv |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2021-11-25 |title=Romania photo of the day: Cluj-Napoca launches its first legal wall for street art |url=https://www.romania-insider.com/photo-first-legal-street-art-wall-cluj |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=Romania Insider |language=en}}thumb|A legal wall in the UK with sponsors logos at the startLegal walls are different from commissioned [mural](/source/mural)s or [commercial graffiti](/source/commercial_graffiti) as writers and artists are given relative [freedom](/source/Artistic_freedom) in what they create, although [hateful messages](/source/Hate_crime) are often disallowed.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-30 |title=Plan for 'legal graffiti' walls to be identified in Glasgow under new pilot |url=https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/23824175.plan-legal-graffiti-walls-glasgow/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=Glasgow Times |language=en}} They may be state-designated spaces{{Cite journal |last=Chang |first=T.C. |date=2018-09-28 |title=Writing on the Wall: Street Art in Graffiti-free Singapore |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-2427.12653 |journal=International Journal of Urban and Regional Research |language=en |volume=43 |issue=6 |pages=1046–1063 |doi=10.1111/1468-2427.12653 |issn=0309-1317|url-access=subscription }} or privately owned. Privately owned walls may need council permission to exist in some jurisdictions, where graffiti-style art is illegal in public even if done on personal property.{{Cite journal |last=Iveson |first=Kurt |date=2013-10-28 |title=War is over (if you want it): rethinking the graffiti problem |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07293682.2009.10753419 |journal=Australian Planner |language=en |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=24–34 |doi=10.1080/07293682.2009.10753419 |issn=0729-3682|url-access=subscription }} == Culture == In typical graffiti spaces, going over someone elses writing (or "[capping](/source/Glossary_of_graffiti)") is an insult, but legal walls are often repainted multiple times a day with no disrespect taken by artists.{{Cite journal |last=Ericsson |first=Hjalmar |date=2020 |title=Graffiti: A subculture alive within the legal. A pluralistic study of the regulations within Swedish graffiti and the influences of formal law. |url=http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9017281 |journal=LUP Student Papers}} Some writers dismiss legal graffiti as "not real" and avoid legal walls. These people may consider a writer who uses legal walls to be a toy (inexperienced or uncultured writer). Some writers believe that legal walls defeats the purpose of graffiti, as a rebellious act to reclaim public space. Writers interested in acquiring graffiti "fame" are often uninterested in legal walls. Despite this, legal walls are used equally by both inexperienced and experienced writers. They can attract "retired" writers who are at a higher risk from doing illegal graffiti. Cameron McAuliffe says legal walls can help legitimise graffiti as an art form. This was seen on a legal wall in [Malmö](/source/Malm%C3%B6), where after a group of young people were attacked by [neo-nazis](/source/Neo-Nazism), large scale protests were held and a local legal wall was painted with a [piece](/source/Piece_(graffiti)) using the words "Kämpa Malmö" ("Keep fighting Malmö") with a [rainbow ribbon](/source/Rainbow_flag_(LGBT)), and the anti-fascist slogan "[No Pasaran](/source/They_shall_not_pass)". The piece became an attraction, and was restored multiple times. There were calls for the art to be protected by the local council. == Effect on illegal graffiti == There is debate about whether legal walls [discourage or encourage illegal graffiti](/source/Graffiti_abatement). [Parramatta](/source/Parramatta) in Australia used to have several legal walls, but after the local council decided on a zero-tolerance policy in related to graffiti in 2009, all but one of the legal walls were demolished. The council said that graffiti had decreased in the area since the legal walls were removed.{{Cite web |last=Whyte |first=Sarah |date=2011-05-14 |title=Councils write off graffiti walls |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/councils-write-off-graffiti-walls-20110514-1en7v.html |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}} Other research has shown that legal walls reduce illegal graffiti by giving writers a safer, often visible space for their art.{{Cite journal |last=Gee |first=Elizabeth |date=2013-01-01 |title=City Walls Can Speak: The Street Art Movement and Graffiti's Place in First Amendment Jurisprudence |url=https://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/mslj/vol20/iss1/7 |journal=Jeffrey S. Moorad Sports Law Journal |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=209 |issn=1074-9187}} Opponents of legal walls argue that if writers wanted to produce art legally, they would already be using [canvas](/source/canvas)es instead of illegal spaces. == Places mistaken as legal walls == Some places are "grey areas", where graffiti is not legal but is generally left up by authorities, often due to popularity with tourists. These include [Hosier Lane](/source/Hosier_Lane) in Melbourne{{Cite news |date=2020-04-04 |title='It's a bad look for Melbourne': The street artist who wants to take back creative control of the city |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-05/melbourne-laneway-street-art-artists-concerned-for-future/12042794 |access-date=2024-05-08 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}} and [Rush Lane (Graffiti Alley)](/source/Graffiti_Alley%2C_Toronto) in Toronto.{{Cite web |title=YYZ Why?: Graffiti Alley evolved to become a top Toronto destination – Toronto {{!}} Globalnews.ca |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/5742398/graffiti-alley-toronto/ |access-date=2024-05-22 |website=Global News |language=en-US}} Others walls exist as something between [commissioned art](/source/Commission_(art)) and legal graffiti walls{{Cite web |last=Graffitifunworld |title=Legal graffiti walls |url=https://www.graffitifunworld.com/legal-graffiti-walls |access-date=2026-04-13 |website=Graffitifunworld |language=en}}, and are curated, invitation-only art walls that are in public spaces but not open to anyone to paint on such as the [Venice Art Walls](/source/Venice_Art_Walls). == Notable legal walls == Fully legal walls include * [5 Pointz](/source/5_Pointz) (in [Queens](/source/Queens), [New York City](/source/New_York_City)) * [Graffiti Alley, Baltimore](/source/Graffiti_Alley%2C_Baltimore) * [Graffiti tunnel at the University of Sydney](/source/University_of_Sydney){{Cite web |title=USYD Graffiti Tunnel – Street Art Cities |url=https://streetartcities.com/markers/7240 |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=streetartcities.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Diehl |first=Caleb |title=Sydney University keeps street art alive while others scrub it away |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/college/2015/01/23/sydney-university-keeps-street-art-alive-while-others-scrub-it-away/37400001/ |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=USA TODAY |language=en-US}} * [House of Paint](/source/Brewer_Park) (skatepark) * [Leake Street](/source/Leake_Street) * [Modica Way](/source/Modica_Way) * [The Buszy](/source/The_Buszy) (skatepark) * [Free Expression Tunnel](/source/Free_Expression_Tunnel) * [HOPE Outdoor Gallery](/source/HOPE_Outdoor_Gallery) (in [Austin, Texas](/source/Austin%2C_Texas)) * [Graffiti Street](/source/Graffiti_Street) (in Ghent, Belgium) == See also == * [Broken windows theory](/source/Broken_windows_theory) * [Public art](/source/Public_art) * [Legal graffiti spaces (category)](/source/%3ACategory%3ALegal_graffiti_spaces) == External links == * [https://www.legal-walls.net/Legal-walls.net Legal-walls.net] – interactive map of legal walls globally, user-based content == References == {{reflist}} Category:Graffiti and unauthorised signage Category:Walls --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Legal wall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_wall) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_wall?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.