To help curb illegal street art, in 2001 the city of prague designated several legal graffiti zones near Prague 5’s Barrandov bridge, Prague 1’s Těšnov tram stop and the Orionka zone in Prague 4–Modřany."

PRAGUE "If caught, artists who spray graffiti in illegal areas face up to eight years in prison, Blažek says, but a majority receives lesser sentences to perform cleanups and other types of community service.

Last month, employees of the Corinthia Towers Hotel in Prague 4 arrived at their jobs to find their work areas covered with graffiti — and they welcomed the change. Commissioned by hotel manager Christain Grage, the graffiti drawings are part of a project to brighten up the hotel’s employee areas. Catering to its young kitchen, housekeeping and maintenance staff, who spend a majority of their workday walled in the hotel’s back-of-the-house facilities, Grage asked local graffiti artists Lukáš Fokt and Zsolt Farkas to festoon the previously drab walls of the hotel kitchen, smoking and maintenance facilities — the areas most frequented by hotel staff — with six thematic drawings. “They’re not just some wall scrawlings. They’re great to look at and they have some artistic value,” says hotel public relations manager Jana Horáčková, who organized the project. “Our hope is that they will act as a sort of spirit lifter.” According to Grage, who in 2004 commissioned British street artist Chris Fenwick to decorate the hotel’s interior with similar, smaller-scale drawings, the project enjoyed a positive reaction from hotel staff. “These quirky types of projects are extremely popular,” Grage says. “I spotted many employees taking pictures in front of these drawings.” Aside from the aesthetic value, the project could mean a positive development for graffiti culture. By providing an outlet for graffiti artists, or “writers,” commissioned projects such as the one in the Corinthia Towers allow some artists to channel their creativity without breaking the law. “In today’s world, people are beginning to value graffiti as a form of art, but that doesn’t mean every graffiti artist is going to throw himself at a canvas, or that he will try to make himself visible through other legal means,” says Fokt. With more than 240 graffiti sprayers arrested in Prague since 1998, the city would welcome more of these types of preventive activities, says Prague Deputy Mayor Rudolf Blažek. “We don’t want to get in the way of artists’ and young peoples’ self-realization, but even they have to realize the consequences of damaging someone else’s property,” he adds. If caught, artists who spray graffiti in illegal areas face up to eight years in prison, Blažek says, but a majority receives lesser sentences to perform cleanups and other types of community service. To help curb illegal street art, in 2001 the city designated several legal graffiti zones near Prague 5’s Barrandov bridge, Prague 1’s Těšnov tram stop and the Orionka zone in Prague 4–Modřany. While such efforts are welcomed by some, Fokt says it is unlikely they will eliminate illegal graffiti spraying completely. “Graffiti is a street subculture, and its adrenalin is being increasingly sought out,” he adds. “It’s becoming a drug, and it’s luring more and more young writers to the streets.”

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