How two street artists on the downtown east side fought against a tagger that pollutes Chinatown

Trey Helten and Jamie Hardy are street artists in Downtown Eastside, Vancouver. .. Carefully choose the public spaces in which they paint to make their vibrant image meaningful to the underprivileged community.

In March,Tagger was indignant when he crossed theChinatown street mural {3 3} Eight Immortals Sea. And that led to a multi-month project to use their paint brushes to help heal an increasingly broken relationship between these two adjacent communities.

"Graffiti spilled from Downtown Eastside into Chinatown and things were at the boiling point," said Herten, who paints under the name Grow Up.

"So reaching out to Chinatown and helping them when they are suffering from all targeted vandalism seemed like a natural kind of progress. .... I will try to extend the olive branch to Chinatown to mitigate some of the problematic graffiti and justify street art in this situation. "

Hardy, known as Smoky D or Smoky Devil on the Downtown East Side, joined a Facebook group popular with street artists and criticized the graffiticovering themural. : "Keep f smart and leave Chinatown murals alone. Vancouver has blank walls, cluttered pieces, roofs and floater spots that don't require f. Other artists , Created a meaningful masterpiece for them. "

Herten and Hardy have regained the reputation of a respectful street artist, and Vancouver police have stated that graffiti has increased by300%. They wanted to make up for the frustrated residents and shopkeepers of Chinatown {48

They were the Chinese artist, Chinatown merchant who painted theEighty Mural. , Representatives, in collaboration with non-profit organizations, covered with street murals reflecting unattractive graffiti. The history and culture of the neighborhood.

So far, two Downtown Eastside street artists have set their sights on completing three projects in Chinatown and doing more.

In the region, business owners and community leaders arecity hallsand other officials,are pandemics, and Vancouver police are anti-Asian between 2020 and 2021. When he reported a717% increase in hate crimes

"Oh, these guys were amazing.

"They took something originally (increased) during the COVID — anti-Asian tagging, which was very ugly — but They just made 180 and turned it all to make (street art) beautiful. What you see here, they all have a message. Very profound, very bright, very vibrant I'm actually going home. "

Herten and Hardy's journey began in Aprilwith over 100 volunteers Helped with the repairDamagedEight Immortalsmural.

"I and Smokey arrived at the mural ofEight Immortalswhen modified to be respected by the community, showing that not all street performers are bad. "Herten said. He is also the manager of the Downtown Eastside overdose prevention site.

"I learned from Smokey that street art can really be used in a positive way to help others. Smoky has been doing it for 25 years."

Hardy shares information on how to be safe during a pandemic, posts details about the missing woman, and to commemorate the woman lost in the crisis of overdose. I used the work of.

"We just wanted to show that not all street artists are sneaky or destroyers. It ruins people's art (some taggers). It's a kind of painting that depicts all of them because I've been doing stupid and stupid things lately, such as making it. It's ridiculous, "Hardy said.

The artists who created the Eight Immortals, Sean Cao and Katharine Yi, encouraged the two men to use social credibility on the streets to make a difference, where and what they suggested. Was shown. Herten said he could paint in Chinatown.

"Sean Cao and Katherine Yi are very supportive and push us behind the scenes. "Herten said. "And Mina intervened, and Lorraine intervened at that point."

Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Lorraine Rowe, and Gastown entrepreneur and local artist. Minna Van, co-founder of a non-profit organization, helped two men build connections in their neighborhood. There is a language barrier.

"This was building a community, but it was also a heartfelt feeling," said Van, co-founder of a network hub that provides office space for small businesses.

"I think it's really resonating with so many people. The art isn't just what you're looking at right now. It's about supporting each other. It's about feeling something. It's about feeling something. It's about how we communicate between different cultures, and that's the way we started. "

Their first mural is in the alley between Keefer and Pender streets off Colombia. It covered the wall where graffiti was scattered. City. Smoky, along with his dedication, painted a portrait ofJack Chow, a longtime Chinatown fixture that owned a successful insurance company.

"Because he is a famous person here, I thought we would make a monument for him," Smokey said.

The second mural, by Herten, extends the length of the building in the alley of Keefer Street between Main Street and Gore Street. Part of it is dedicated to the first Chinese commercial photographer in Vancouver,YuchoChow.

The other half says "Welcome to Chinatown" in huge colorful letters. Van says it is very popular with many tourists who stop taking pictures. "It's like an official welcome sign," she laughed.

The artist has recently finished painting metal roll-down shutters for two businesses, Gore Street and Hastings Street, Chongshan Trading Company and Leo Fine Hair Salon. Cooperated with. It was repeatedly attacked by the graffiti destroyers.

Herten painted "Respect Chinatown" in both English and Chinese on the roll-down shutters of the salon, and "Hairdresser" in both languages ​​on the side walls.

A big hit with Kim Won who works at the salon.

"Before it gets dirty. Now they have made it great. Well done," he enthusiastically said. "All customers say they are very beautiful now."

At a trading company shutter, Hardy creates a portrait of the owner Tommy Wong in a traditional bottle. Did the herbs he sells. Wong was furious with graffiti artists earlier this year, so he wrote back a message to them and begged them to stop destroying his store.

"The young guy in the herb shop there hated it. He repainted it over and over again. And it really made me I made him angry, "Hardy said.

"He was really happy when I took his picture."

So far, the murals by Hardy and Herten have not been tagged. They want it to continue as a sign of respect from the local artist to the local artist.

Pair continues to outreach with graffiti artists in Downtown Eastside, encouraging them to keep Chinatown clean and offering to work with them elsewhere. Some people hear it, others don't, says Herten.

According to Van, some of the answers may offer more opportunities for downtown Eastside artists to promote and sell their art.

So she co-founded the non-profit organizationDigital Hopes. This allows local artists to work together to showcase their art in temporary exhibitions. By selling art in BC or digital format, both domestically and internationally.

Last weekend, Sun Yat-sen Gallery had an art show featuring works by downtown Eastside artists, and anotherscheduled for this weekend will be held at City Center Motor Hotel. it was done.

Van is also in contact with several developers who may be interested in buying Downtown Eastside artwork for new buildings in the area.

Assisting local artists is more important than financial reasons, says Van. "Art is healing. Art is a way for people to deal with trauma. It's more than art. For some, it's lifesaving in the Downtown Eastside."

Van wants to create an opportunity for artists not only to sell their work, but also to legally paint in public without destroying the art of buildings and other people. I am. We need the support of the city, local businesses and residents.

Hardy agrees. He also wants the city to create a legitimate area where street artists can pursue their crafts without violating the rules. "Graffiti isn't a fad or a fad, it's getting bigger and bigger," he said.

Hardy's summer goal is to create murals on as many rolldown shutters and business walls as possible in Chinatown. They will continue to partner with Van and Rowe for permission from merchants and residents.

The Chinese artists behind Eight Immortalsare B. C. He proposes to focus on future murals, such as the bornJean Lee. The only Chinese Canadian accepted by the Royal Canadian Air Force's Women's Division during World War II, orDr. Madeline Chung, the first female obstetrician in British Columbia, gave birth to more than 7,200 babies.

"We want to support Chinatown and beautify it as much as possible with street art. It's really a top spot for tourists and (street) artists themselves. It's like an opportunity to showcase your work, "says Herten.

The positive reaction from Chinatown has made them motivated to continue, Hardy said.

"At first I didn't expect it to grow this much, but it's going well, good people, and they understand what we're trying to do.

lculbert @ postmedia. com