Kamloops muralists step up to help after North Shore mural defaced by tagger

An anonymous Kamloops street tagger has broken one of the biggest rules in the graffiti community — don't mess with other peoples' art.

A mural commissioned by the North Shore Business Improvement Association was defaced sometime during the night Sept. 20.

When word of the vandalism spread, several local muralists stepped up to offer their help.

“We received significant response from the muralist community, a number of whom offered to come repair the mural for us,” said Jeremy Heighton with the North Shore Business Improvement Association.

The artist, well-known local muralist Zac Abney, will be doing the repairs on the mural at no cost early next week.

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"The most important aspect of this is that community came together once again in North Kamloops and supported each other," Heighton said. "The muralist community really wanted to make sure this was put right.”

The mural, titled Hope and Connection, is located on Tranquille Road at Hatsuki Sushi. It asks the viewer to place themselves within the art work through the use of silhouetted figures as place holders.

"The intent is that you stand in those silhouettes and you actually become part of the artwork," Heighton said. "It's interesting that these particular tags deface something that is meant to signify community, signify hope… and the community showed up." 

He added that the significance of the mural was likely lost on the tagger, who seasoned taggers believe is an amateur not well-versed in street culture.

Although there have been no further developments in finding the culprit, Heighton believes word will get back to them.

“It’s a very small community and I’m sure that even if we don’t find out who it is, the message will get back to the vandal," he said. “I’m sure the muralist community as a whole will work to resolve the situation with that individual."

Instead of defacing the work of other artists, taggers are encouraged to use the designated community art wall under the Overlanders Bridge.

"Street artists are allowed to utilize that space to develop their style," he said.

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