Song Yingwen

DESPITE its controversial reputation abroad, graffiti was accepted as a form of art, rather than a crime, in Shenzhen, said Huang Shifang, a researcher in art with the Shenzhen Municipal Culture Bureau.

His remarks were echoed by German graffiti master, Seak, in a visit to Shenzhen in January. During his stay here while attending an exhibition on graffiti, part of the 2008 Shenzhen and Hong Kong Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture, Seak expressed his amazement at how graffiti was tolerated and even respected here.

But this did not mean there was no regulation of graffiti. Painting in unauthorized public places was against city regulations, said Yang Shiming, spokesperson for the urban management office in Luohu District. A regulation governing the city’s environmental management includes a 200-yuan fine for offenders. If not in special circumstances, graffiti would be treated as illegal advertisements or painting on walls and floors, Yang said.

The special circumstances refer to events like the graffiti exhibition of the Shenzhen and Hong Kong Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture and organized graffiti competitions.

Actually the urban management office of Nanshan District, the law enforcer that normally prosecutes illegal advertising, helped to promote Shahe Road West as a haven for graffiti artists by co-organizing a graffiti competition with Shenzhen TV Station in May 2007.

“Artists should have the freedom to create on the premise that neither the process nor the result (of the creation) would have a negative impact on others. We welcome graffiti as art, not as crime,” says Huang.