Nacka municipality distances graffiti and instead describes Wall Street Nacka as an "international mural painting festival". The municipality's website also has guidelines for what art should and should not contain. For example, art should not be socially critical, rebellious or aggressive. Instead, they push the art to be socially positive and signal softness and wisdom.
Nacka artist Huge was briefed before the festival was launched, according to him due to graffiti connections. The festival, for its part, believes that Hoge's art does not fit in because he works too much with text in his art.
But the guidelines of the municipal arts festival have been met with criticism: The Artists' National Organization believes that it is worrying that politicians and officials seem to have an increasingly difficult time understanding the principle of arm's length between cultural politics and cultural creators.
Opposition criticalThe Social Democrats' Khashayar Farmanbar, for its part, believes that Nacka municipality's "fear of graffiti" is unkind.
- If you now set a frame for a festival, how come one of the most famous and esteemed artists in that genre must not participate because he uses letters? It's an ultra-conservative view of art, he says, and continues:
- Politics should not interfere with art in this way, it is an abuse of artistic freedom. You can't distinguish between graffiti and graffiti.
"The municipality can create conditions, should not control art"
The art critics of the Cultural News also respond to the municipal guidelines for the art on Wall Street Nacka.
- This code that you have on Wall Street Nacka surprises me very much, I can not remember any historical example where the municipality has been and tried to control the art in this way, says Dennis Dahlqvist and continues:
- The normal thing in Sweden is that you have arm's length, that the municipality can create the conditions for art but certainly not control the content. With the rules they have set up for the festival, even Banksy would not be able to qualify to participate, and it feels horrible.
Asking for criticismMats Gerdau, the chairman of the local council in Nacka, is surprised when he hears about the criticism. In particular, he questions the Social Democrats' criticism of the guidelines.
- We talked about this in the council already in January and everyone agreed except the Nackalist and SD who voted against the project as a whole. But nobody criticized the guidelines then, says Mats Gerdau.
Mats Gerdau believes it is reasonable for the art to be adapted to the site:
- I think that, for example, if you want to paint on the facade of the church, then the church must still think that the motif fits. For example, the church might not be so happy about an upside down cross at the church. The motif should fit the scene and it is important that it signals hopefulness and future faith.