Tenants from the Nebula building off of Cherokee Street discuss the damage to 'Prime,' a mural by artist Faring Purth, which happened during last weekend's Paint Louis graffiti art event.
Organizers of Paint Louis, a festival where graffiti artists from around the world descend on ºüÀêÊÓƵ, are distancing themselves from some spray paint vandals who hit area businesses over the Labor Day weekend.
The three-day festival was supposed to enliven the 2-mile stretch of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ flood wall south of the Gateway Arch, along the Mississippi River. But some artists may have ventured to other canvasses — tagging places and existing art that were supposed to be strictly off-limits.
At least two businesses are crying foul.
StilL 630 Distillery on South Fourth Street in downtown ºüÀêÊÓƵ found graffiti on the business last Saturday morning. Big bubbly letters, the artists’ graffiti signature, marred artwork of liquor bottles that the distillery had mounted on its billboard out front.
Its owner, David Weglarz, was furious. He called it a punch in the gut. Weglarz estimates it will cost him several thousand dollars to replace that printed billboard.
“It’s a significant cost for us that hurts us at a tough time in our business,†Weglarz said Friday. “Not only does it hurt our business, it hurts our soul because we are trying everything in our power to promote ºüÀêÊÓƵ.â€
Weglarz said the vandals got all four sides of his building and a fifth area on a shed near a dumpster. He said he tried power-washing to remove the graffiti but that didn’t work. The nonprofit ºüÀêÊÓƵ came Wednesday to paint over the graffiti on some parts of the building, but the billboard with the liquor bottles was special artwork that will need to be redone.
The Nebula building at South Jefferson Avenue and Cherokee Street was also hit by vandals when a giant mural on the south side of its building was defaced. The graffiti tagged with a name in bubble letters that looks like the word “Hotel.†It ruined a 100-by-40-foot mural titled “Prime†that had been spared from vandals for years.
The Nebula building is about 3 miles away from the where the sanctioned graffiti event was held.
One of the organizers of Paint Louis, Bryan Walsh, told the Post-Dispatch on Friday that he had heard from two businesses reporting graffiti. But Walsh said it’s not confirmed that vandals were connected to the festival. Walsh also said the organization doesn’t have the money to help clean up.
“We have unfortunately very little resources on hand in terms of labor, time, money, etcetera,†he said in an interview.
In the future, Walsh said, the festival will make sure to have sponsorships to include money for cleanup.
In on Thursday, Paint Louis stressed that it warns artists to only paint the flood wall. Anyone who defaced buildings won’t be invited back, the group said.
“Paint Louis alerts artists during registration, prior to the event, and during the event that painting is only allowed at the wall,†the Paint Louis Planning Committee said in the statement. “Painting illegally outside of the event is not allowed. Paint Louis planning committee members have communicated with business owners that have been affected by things which happened during the event.â€
“Artists who have been identified, whether or not they participated in the event, will not be invited to Paint Louis in the future,†the group said.
Organizers said they hoped to “create a call for volunteers†to help with any future cleanup.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ police Sgt. Charles Wall said police took a report over the graffiti painted at StilL 630. Wall said Friday that he was aware of two other reported incidents: one in the 4100 block of Chippewa Avenue and another in the 100 block of Chouteau Avenue. He said no one has been arrested.
Conner Kerrigan, a spokesperson for ºüÀêÊÓƵ Mayor Tishaura Jones, said, “We share the frustration of these business owners and event organizers.†Kerrigan added that Brightside ºüÀêÊÓƵ has been working to remove the unwanted graffiti since city officials were made aware of the issue.
Paint Louis began its statement on Facebook with some background on the festival. It started in 1997 and is now a “world renowned event†with the Guinness Book of World Records crediting it with the longest graffiti wall in the world, the post said.
“The festival is an annual event that celebrates the four elements of hip hop: Graffiti, MCing, DJing, and Breaking,†the post continued.
The event brought more than 400 artists from Germany, Australia, Mexico, Canada, and across the United States, the group said. Walsh said an estimated 30,000 people attended this year, the festival’s 27th year. It featured music and food and invited families with children to take part in kid events and “experience street mural artists.â€
Weglarz, the distillery owner, said the organizers should do more to help businesses remove the unwanted graffiti. He said people signing up to paint the flood wall should pay an entry fee to help cover the cost of cleanup.
Weglarz said the vandals were brazen about their deed, posting a video on social media showing them defacing StilL 630. The same vandals, who Weglarz thinks were out-of-towners, then posted more videos showing them painting the flood wall at the sanctioned event, Weglarz said.
Weglarz said he shared those videos with the event organizers on Saturday, during the event, so he thinks it is wrong if the organizers try to claim there might not be a connection.
“It’s absolutely related,†Weglarz said. “To pretend otherwise is dishonest.â€
A couple times of a year, Weglarz said his building is “tagged†by graffiti artists who draw on the back of the building or the sides. “And we just have to come and paint over it,†he said. “There’s a cost to that continually and that’s a pain, but it’s not the end of the world and I, generally, can’t raise a stink too much about that.â€
But what happened last Saturday defaced the business, ruining their special billboard “so blatantly out front,†he added.
“We’re welcoming people in here to ºüÀêÊÓƵ and to Missouri, you know, and this is what they see downtown?†Weglarz added. “It doesn’t make them eager to book a return trip.â€
Photos: Hundreds of artists cover flood wall in murals for the annual Paint Louis festival
Tenants from the Nebula building off of Cherokee Street discuss the damage to 'Prime,' a mural by artist Faring Purth, which happened during l…
Artwork which originally showed the labels of products from StilL 630 Distillery is defaced by graffiti, as seen Friday, Sept. 6, 2024 at the facility on South Fourth Street in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. The damage happened the same weekend as Paint Louis, an annual event where graffiti artists converge on ºüÀêÊÓƵ to spray paint art on the Mississippi River flood wall.
Blacked-out graffiti partially covers Faring Purth’s mural ‘Prime’, located on the south side of the Nebula Buiding at 3407 South Jefferson Avenue near Cherokee Street, on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024. The damage happened the same weekend as Paint Louis, an annual event where graffiti artists converge on ºüÀêÊÓƵ to spray paint art on the Mississippi River flood wall.
Brandon Cruz, left, from Phoenix, draws in the sketchbook of Nancy Van Hoosier, 4, of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, while her mother Holly Van Hoosier watches on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024, at the Mississippi River flood wall in ºüÀêÊÓƵ. Nancy Van Hoosier brought along her sketchbook to have artists along the flood wall fill in the blank pages with their work.