Why Don't You Just Go Spray Paint a Police Station

At first glance, this opportunity seems like a cool attempt for police officers to connect with the local street art scene in Beijing, some sort of outreach effort lifted straight from the storyboard of an old hip-hop themed flick like Breakin or Beat Street. But on the other hand, maybe it’s a clever sting operation to wipe out a bunch of English speaking graffiti hobbyists tagging storefronts, walls, and sanlunches around the city in one blow (Hundred Flowers, anyone?). Despite both of these possible outcomes, this is still one of the more interesting event listings that has landed on our site in some time.

Apparently the organizer, who’s account name is Schneider Yang, was approached by an Officer Chan of Yuanmingyuan Police Station, out by Summer Palace, to round up a ragtag crew of street artists to decorate their office walls (Apr 2-10) with a justice theme. Hmmm ... we suggest a "justice is blind" motif, with a lady justice swagged out in a Gucci blindfold, lots of bling, and an Audi in the distance filled with cash and an assortment of other luxury goods.

Though justice may be blind, it hardly ever has a huge pay out. The organizers want this all done for free. They will fork over cash for materials and likely a free box lunch (yummy, no doubt, but no word on free cigs and baijiu). We see this as another attempt to capitalize on the starving artist though maybe the chance to tag a police office is its own reward.

Some of the requirements for anyone wanting to get involved include fluent English, sending some samples of your work here, and a CV so they can “get to know you” before you join the team.

Here's a snippet from Lance Crayon, the filmmaker behind Spray Paint Beijing, regarding the legality of graffiti in China from an interview with Public Radio International:

"As long as you stay away from anything political or anything too sensitive, from painting on temples or anything sacred and government buildings, things like that, you're not going to have a problem, and that's what they do. I mean there is so much concrete in Beijing, that when these guys paint on walls that aren't designated by the government, the citizens think they are making this city look prettier – and indeed they are."

But this also makes us think that some idiot may have done something he shouldn’t have done to the Summer Palace, which just so happens to be the location of the police station. We are likely putting too much thought into this, and our sheepish paranoia is getting the best of us once again. So feel free to ignore us and read the event listing here for more details on what could be a lot of fun, spray painting the day away with our friendly, local law enforcement.

Photos: cloudinary, gsdmagazine