Laws of street

Legal street artYou can graffiti on free Walls because many local councils within the UK provide spaces for graffiti artists to produce their artwork legally. In order to find out about this and the locations within your community you should contact your local authority.

Masking Tape - Tape can be used to decorate on glass or plastic by getting lit from behind to give a stained glass effect.

Chalk - Chalk can be used for artistic purposes, whitish form either pressed into sticks or used as the white part of gesso.

Flashmob - Flash mobs are a group of people that do some sort of unusual performance such as dancing in public places for either entertainment or artistic expression.

Examples of legal street artMossley Park in Mossley

Chethams Park in Stalybridge

Greenhead Park in Huddersfield

Withington Pumping station

Canal side in glossop

Sharrow ball courts in sheffield

Example of Illegal street art Tagging- Tagging is writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or painted on a wall or other surface, often within public view. Tagging is known mostly from street artist writing their name showing their piece of work or even marking their territory.

Yarn Bombing - Unless done with permission from an organisation or a private property owner, is illegal. If you are installing something without permission, it is graffiti

ChargesSomeone caught doing graffiti will be guilty of a criminal act and can be fined up to £5,000 if the damage they have caused is less than £5,000. Alternatively they may be given a community service order rather than a fine which is often the case in linked to young offenders.

The Anti-Social Behaviour is powers for local councils to punish offenders and to help them clear up illegal graffiti. The powers under the Act include the following:

Local authorities have the power to give clean-up notices to owners of street furniture for example phone boxes if they have graffiti on them. If the property is not cleaned within 28 days the local authority will be able to remove the graffiti themselves charging the owner for this service.

To sell their spray paint to people under the age of 16. It is the duty of shopkeepers to prove that they took reasonable steps to determine the age of the person. If they did not do this they can be fined up to £2,500.