MULLANEY "OUT ON A LIMB" OVER GRAFFITI FESTIVAL

04-03-2008

Birmingham councillor Martin Mullaney has admitted he’s going "out on a limb" over the city’s first graffiti festival later this month - with colleagues expecting him to fail in his efforts to reduce spray paint vandalism.

Mullaney has organised the bash at Kings Heath Park on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th March between noon and 6pm in an effort to persuade youngsters to quit tagging and become legitimate artists.

The park’s tennis courts be filled with 8 foot high boards, while the adjacent basketball court will have ramps for skateboarders and BMXers. There will also be food and music.

Professional graffiti artists will be on hand to show off their skills and advise teenage wannabees, and Mullaney has also revealed that a full-time managed legal graffiti zone will be opened at the rear of Kings Heath Baptist Church in mid-March.

He said, “I’m going out on a limb with this.  Other politicians are saying, ‘why are you doing this?’

“The answer is that we have to try and give people something positive to do.  If it doesn’t work, I’ll put my hands up and say I got it wrong.

“But I think it will lead to a decline in tagging.”

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