Artists Express Themselves At Annual Graffiti Contest

The East Greenwich Housing Authority sponsored its 10th Annual Great Graffiti Contest Saturday at the London Street Passage downtown.

"The Luge," as it is commonly known, cuts under the train tracks, giving pedestrians a passageway to and from the waterside. Over the years, it has attracted a fair amount of illegal graffiti. The contest was developed in coordination with Town Manager Bill Sequino "to make this a way for people to express themselves in a positive way," explained coordinator Tracy Johnson.

The graffiti contest ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and had prizes awarded in three age categories: 10 and under, 11 to 16, and 17 and up. Event planners provided older kids and adults with spray paint, masks, goggles, and gloves, while providing the younger ages with chalk and finger paints.

Marcia Sullivan, the executive director of the East Greenwich Housing Authority, was pleased with the turnout for the event. "Prizes were based on donations we received and then the amounts were divided up," she said. 

Michael Macaulay of East Greenwich, a former prize winner, returned again this year because he said, "It was fun to do. I got good feedback from people, and it's a new art form for me." He depicted the Greek god Poseidon in his artwork. 

Michael Rougier of Cranston also came back to participate this year. He won last year's 17-and-up competition, and this year he created a detailed space-age mural with vibrant colors.

Judges appeared to reward the traditional graffiti look. The winners for 17 and up were: 1st place, Sterby, and 2nd place, Dominic and Abbey. For the 11 to 16 category, winners were: 1st place, Andrew Kish, and 2nd place, Jane Sousa. Lastly, the 10 and under category included winners: 1st place, Kendal Wheeler, and 2nd place, Evan Macaulay.

The group of judges included Town Councilor Mark Gee, the Parks & Recreation Director Cathy Bradley, and police Sergeant John Carter. The judging was slated to take 30 minutes, but ended up taking an hour, as the judges huddled in deep discussion deciding on the winners.

The lip-synching and dance contests were brought back this year due to their huge success from the previous year.

The crowd picked winners in the lip-sync and dance contests. Cousins Abbie Murphy, 8, and Annarose Albert, 5, of Cumberland won the lip-sync contest singing, "Tonight, Tonight." 

"It was fun! We won a $75 gift card!" said Abbie excitedly.

Emma Maxwell, 10, and Gretchen Jackson, 11, of North Kingstown won the dance contest. They said they had a blast, "doing art, singing, and dancing today!"  

Some other highlights of the day included a dance by Donte Thornhill, 14, of East Greenwich, as well as the singing by Angelica Contreras, 15, of West Warwick, who chose to sing instead of lip-sync.

Finally, the crowd expressed enjoyment with the event by cheering, dancing, and being friendly to each other.  There seemed to be a nice sense of community among all the participants and coordinators, and thanks to the East Greenwich Housing Authority this will be an event for people to come to and enjoy for years and years.     

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