Harnessing Art to Discourage Graffiti in Tokyo

The applications of art can be said to be limitless. Take the Harajuku district in Tokyo, a hangout for fashion-conscious teens, who flock to the area both on weekdays and weekends. One problem, however, has been persistent vandalism by taggers who paint graffiti on the shutters of shops after they close for the night. To discourage this, a famous apparel shop in the district, HARADA’S, tried a unique experiment, offering its shutters as a canvas for use by a well known artist. The attractive new works, which merge art with graffiti, were completed by a group called ArtMind last May.