A new street art project in a major skate park in Taipei was vandalized last week. One of the artists has begun restoring the work to its original state. As he covers up one graffiti tag at a time, he opens up about his experience being a street artist in Taipei.
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00:00Restoring his vandalized work.
00:06This Taipei-based street artist who goes by DB has begun painting over graffiti left on
00:10his murals about a week ago.
00:13His work is featured in one of the capital's largest and oldest skate parks, located underneath
00:18the highway, right in the heart of the city.
00:21DB and his project collaborators, who collectively go by the name Wild Open Arts, set out to
00:27create a piece that captures the dynamism in skateboarding.
00:30It had just been completed when vandalized.
00:57Street art was once heavily restricted in Taiwan, particularly when the country was
01:04under martial law from 1949 to 1987.
01:09It has since been used to brighten or revive certain areas, but it is still perceived as
01:14an underground art form.
01:16Most street artists must apply for licenses and are obliged to follow any regulations
01:21set up by property owners.
01:23This mural project is a collaboration between the city government and street artists, with
01:28the former granting the latter access to this space, which means any graffiti done here
01:34not only damages the artist's work, but it also vandalizes public property.
01:43There are penalties and fines for unauthorized graffiti, and few public venues in Taipei
01:48permit street art, which means opportunities like this skate park project are hard to come
01:53by.
01:54But despite the vandalism, the art that makes it onto public spaces are increasingly appreciated.
02:00The skate park is located on land once part of a vast urban winery during Taiwan's Japanese
02:26colonial period.
02:27Now known as the Huashan 1914 Creative Park, the remaining buildings have been transformed
02:33into a multi-purpose gathering space, where local artists, craftspeople, and small businesses
02:39showcase their work.
02:41It's created a buzzing arts neighborhood, which includes the skate park, which has long
02:45been a site for graffiti.
03:03Though he knows there is no guarantee against future damage, DB remains committed to restoring
03:08his work, not only to preserve this collaborative expression of creativity, but to amplify Taipei's
03:15burgeoning street art culture.
03:17Klein Wong and Wesley Lewis for Taiwan Plus.