Minneapolis to unveil 9 new murals in city parks this year, in attempt to curb vandalism
MINNEAPOLIS -- With an eye toward vandalism and "tagging hotspots," the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board announced this week that there will be nine new murals to be unveiled this year.
The murals, which will be painted by a number of internationally-renowned local artists, will pop up in places like the Franklin Steele Square Park building, the Lake Harriet trolley tunnel, the Bde Maka Ska parkway wall, and the bathroom buildings in Powderhorn and Cleveland parks.
Each artist was given a specific goal to model their murals around, such as fostering equity, strengthening ecological connections, connecting through technology, and stewarding a continuum of nature and recreation. These goals were culled from the MPRB's "Parks for All" plan.
The park board said their intention is to reduce the amount of tagging that's afflicted the city's park system. Over the past four years, MPRB says it's spent an average of $133,000 each year on graffiti removal. The murals' "canvases," as it were, will be sealed with a graffiti prevention seal coat.
The first mural, at Lake Harriet, is already up.