August 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 40

SOCIAL EQUITY

Wakefield Skate Park mural

Making Graffiti a 'Gift' to the Community
Park program teaches teens how to legally participate in graffiti art
By Whitney Pipkin

G

raffiti has long been a menace to public parks, viewed as vandalism
more than art, as it appears unsolicited on walls, benches or buildings.
But a program at one park is putting spray cans into the hands of
teens, teaching them how to legally use them as a form of expression.
" I'm a real proponent of graffiti art within the community in a legal way, "
says Alec McDowell, manager of Wakefield Skate Park in Annandale, Virginia. " I wanted to give the kids a way to practice their skills with a real artist. "
The park program isn't the first to
view graffiti through a new lens. Creating spray-paint murals is one of the
methods suggested by the nonprofit
Project for Public Spaces to prevent
graffiti vandalism on public property.
Research suggests multi-colored mural
projects can help discourage unwanted
graffiti or " tagging, " an elaborate signature left by the artist. Such projects help
build a sense of ownership among participants and remove the blank canvases
that would otherwise tempt graffitists.

38

Parks & Recreation

McDowell first tapped visual artist Dan Roncesvalles earlier this year
to bring some color to the skatepark,
which sits just outside Washington,
D.C.'s Beltway and is run by the Fairfax County Park Authority. Roncesvalles brought in another artist to help
him scrawl psychedelic letters along
both sides of a full moon, an expansive
and fitting backdrop for the skatepark.
McDowell liked the work so much
that he asked the park authority to
allow Roncesvalles to teach students,

| A U G U S T 2 0 1 3 | W W W. N R PA . O R G

ages 12 to 17, how to legally practice graffiti art through a five-week
course. The program launched in late
June with a handful of participants
and will be continued quarterly.
Learning the Hard Way
Growing up in the 1990s in Washington, D.C., Roncesvalles taught himself the art of graffiti, often practicing
on not-so-legal surfaces.
" If you're in it for a long time,
you've already experienced that sort
of thing, " Roncesvalles says about
getting in trouble - rather than recognized - for his art. " You become
smarter. You want to paint stuff, but
you want to find more legitimate avenues to express the art form. "
Roncesvalles' portfolio now includes several city murals and gallery



August 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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