By some stroke of luck, I had the opportunity to visit Montreal last weekend. Although I spent a full 24 hours on buses to get there and back, the ride was worth it so that I could experience a new town, new culture, and see two of my best friends that go to school there.

I naturally couldn’t help but notice how radically different everything in the city was from what I know of in New York. One thing in particular was the street art. Everywhere I went, there were murals painted on buildings and pieces of graffiti everywhere. It seemed welcome rather than rejected. Honestly, I loved that these pieces were really all over the place. It added some extra character to the city and was a point that vastly contrasted against the typical New York mindset: graffiti is bad; it isn’t art and needs to be covered up rather than appreciated.

A mural seen on Rue St-Laurent in Montreal.

This point couldn’t be more clearly seen than in the tearing down of 5Pointz, an abandoned building in Long Island City (you can see it by Court Square on the 7 train!) that was often referred to as “the graffiti Mecca”. Graffiti artists from all over the world would come and tag the building, adding on their own piece to the murals. Recently, though, the building was painted over and torn down by the city so that co-ops could be built in the space.

Personally, I was always against the tearing down of 5Pointz and that’s why I particularly appreciated the street art in Montreal. Do you guys think that graffiti and unofficial street art should be considered art like everything else? Also, do you think that the building should have been torn down?

A view of the partially torn down 5Pointz “graffiti Mecca” from the 7 train.