ATLANTA — Concerned citizens in Atlanta’s eccentric Inman Park neighborhood have banded together with city officials to ensure that any graffiti in their area is only done by well-known Instagram influencers.
“I moved to the city for the art and diversity, but we can’t let just anyone tag the sides of our gluten-free bakeries,” area resident Alison Wolfe said. “So we set up a patrol of like-minded people to stop anyone seen painting on a brick wall, and make them prove their art is something we can blog about, take Instagram photos near, or even make into posters to hang in our live/work space.”
If a graffiti artist cannot prove their worth, they are fined by the association and forced to paint over their work to make room for someone more important. The Inman Park watchdog group even brought in famous artists kNick-kNack and Squidboy from New York City and New Orleans, respectively, to do murals on a new organic pickle store.
“We caught one thug who calls himself El Brujo painting a picture of some old lady. My kids never heard of him, so I had him checked out,” Ofc. Chris Young said. “He isn’t even verified on Instagram. It’s embarrassing — this is a family area; imagine if children see it. I’m going to make sure this public nuisance goes away for a long time.”
To cover El Brujo’s piece dedicated to his dying grandmother, city leaders have reportedly called in Atlanta area tagger Q-Cheznut, who previously garnered an online following for painting nude Dragonball Z characters on local trap houses, to create one of his famous “Miss Piggy Twerking” murals.
“We are not West Berlin here, where anyone can just draw anything they want on our walls,” Councilmember Kyle Adams said. “You need to prove your clout and prove your art will bring in segway graffiti tours and tourist money.”
Any artists wishing to tag in the Inman Park neighborhood must complete a 23-G212 permit application, submit a portfolio, and follow the Inman Park Arts Council on social media.