How do you stop graffiti? Maybe art can make a difference
How do you stop graffiti? Maybe art can make a difference
Beach Drive resident raising funds for a mural at Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook
David Stockert at the Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook park. He's raising money to get a mural painted on the 189 foot wall, in an effort to curb graffiti.
Wed, 01/29/2025
West Seattle and more specifically Beach Drive resident David Stockert is heading an efffort to paint a nautical themed mural for the long sea wall along the Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook. He's already raised close to $4000 for the project which he sees as a deterrent to the nearly constant tagging and graffiti that mar public walls. There's evidence he's right and the City of Seattle agrees. Real Change (and republished by South Seattle Emerald noted that Mayor Bruce Harrell has included graffiti abatement as a significant part of his One Seattle plan. They noted the city has seen a 50% increase in graffiti between 2019 and 2021.
For Stockert it's clearly a personal goal. His GoFundMe page (here) states he is seeking to install a "nautical themed mural at Emma Schmitz Overlook Park in West Seattle. It is along a long wall the gets tagged with graffiti frequently. Even when the parks department paints over the graffiti it comes back in a few days. My hope is that a beautiful mural will stop the tagging.The mural would be 189 feet long on the concrete wall that overlooks Puget Sound."
His goal is $10,000. He's also seeking a potential matching grant from the City of Seattle.
The painting, set to be done by noted muralist Nalisha Estrellas (https://www.artbynalisha.com/murals) is set to start in early May and he's already getting offers from volunteers to help prep the area and apply base paint.