gi_laws

**LAWS**

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 When most people think of street art, they think of illegal graffiti such as tagging, but street art does not only include illegal graffiti and below we have researched the many different forms of street art, both illegal and legal. We have also included laws that apply to street artists, what happens if they break those laws and what is required to make your work legal.

For the most part street art is illegal, but here in Melbourne a commission has been set up which allows street artists to display their art work in a certain area. Legal street art requires a licence or permit which lets the artists display their artwork legally, but does not allow them to choose anywhere they wish to show their work. This is where the laneway commission comes in, they decide a place to display art work and then pick which artists will be allowed to do work there. **Consequences-** The consequences of illegal street art usually depend on the extent of the damage, if the artist is a repeat offender and the location. As street art covers so many areas of art in the city we have decided to research the laws behind each one as listed below:


 * Sculptures-** Most of the sculptures we see in the city today are approved by the city council such as 'Angel' which spent part of its time in the front of the art gallery, but has now moved to Birrarung Marr. While other sculptures are also present on Melbourne's streets they are widely unrecognised and make up a small minority of Melbourne's street art. The sculptures that are illegal are made from various materials such as paper maché,  wood and metal. They are often cheap to construct, but can take a lot of time and effort and are usually taken down in the end by the council .

**Graffiti-** Most of Melbourne's graffiti is illegal and only selected areas are commissioned and legalised by the council, hence the reputation of this form of street art. Graffiti is notorious in Melbourne, but for the most part, with the exception of tagging, graffiti can be quite appealing to the eye. Graffiti laws were changed in 2007 and they are now harsher than before. They include: - On the spot $550 fine for carrying a spray paint can - $26,000 or 2 year jail term if convicted of graffiti vandalism


 * Train stations-** Do you ever notice the graffiti on the walls outside when you're on a train? All of that, murals and tagging alike, is illegal. For safety reasons none of the work done in between train stations is allowed, but artists continue to do their work there anyway. The fines for getting caught and convicted of graffiting between train stations not only include the $26,000 fine for vandalism, but also the $200+ fine for entering a prohibited/track area.

- Submit an application to the front desk of the Melbourne Town Hall - 100 points of identification must be presented to the front desk of the Town Hall, along with the application - If the applicant is under 16, the contact details and ID of the parent/guardian will be checked/examined - In the application you must submit a portrait photo of yourself or have it taken at the town hall - An example of the artwork you will be displaying (chalk art) - Attend an assessment by the Safety and Amenity review panel
 * Live performers/buskers-** Buskers or live performers require a license to perform on the streets of Melbourne. This licence must be displayed whenever they perform and is free to obtain. To acquire this licence the busker must:[[image:IMG_7153.JPG width="212" height="194" align="right" caption="A busker on South Bank"]]


 * Chalk art-** Chalk art follows the same sort of concepts as buskers in that you must have a permit to do pavement art and if you break any of the conditions of the licence the council has the right to revoke it. Some conditions of the licence are that you must allow pedestrians access to pavements and not to block any building doorways and entrances and unless their work is unfinished or they have left it unattended street cleaners have every right to remove it. Under the conditions of the busking permit the licence must be renewed after 12 months of issue and it does not include accepting money while not demonstrating some form of street art (i.e. begging). Some places chalk art is permitted are Southbank and Docklands.