Sick of Obscene Graffiti, Seventh-Grader Plans Mural Contest

When her daughters were younger, Deb Link avoided taking them through the pedestrian tunnel underneath College Trail in Inver Grove Heights.

The tunnel, located along a popular pedestrian trail that leads to , was frequently filled with inappropriate or obscene graffiti. Although city officials often repainted the walls of the tunnel, the graffiti always reappeared.

It’s an ongoing problem that spurred Link’s older daughter, seventh-grader Catherine Link, to action. Last Monday, Catherine presented a creative and ambitious plan to members of the Inver Grove Heights City Council. Her idea: To prevent graffiti, host a contest among young artists in the community and let the winners paint murals on the walls of the tunnel.

Council approval, which Catherine received last Monday, was the penultimate step for the artsy seventh-grader, who is cobbling together support from a variety of city officials and local organizations.

Earlier this year, Catherine decided to take on the idea as part of a Girl Scout project. But her fight against graffiti didn’t begin in earnest until August, when she cold-called Parks Superintendent Mark Borgwardt, with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, to pitch her idea. Borgwardt asked her to submit a formal proposal by Sept. 7, which Catherine later presented to the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission.

To help her judge the contest, which will be held early next year, the 12-year-old hopes to enlist the River Heights Arts Alliance. To get the word out about the contest, she also plans to work with the city and School District 199 officials.

Parks and Recreation Director Eric Carlson is a fan of Catherine’s proposal, which will likely save the city money if it is successful.

City officials estimate the plan will cost $500 annually to carry out—a fraction of the $2,000 to $3,000 the city spends each year to repaint its three pedestrian tunnels multiple times after vandals strike the sites. If the murals in the College Trail tunnel are successful at reducing graffiti, the city may replicate the project in its other two pedestrian tunnels, Carlson said.

“We were interested in the concept, because other cities have put up murals in areas that have been tagged, and it stopped the unwanted graffiti from happening again,” Carlson said. “As an experiment, we’re willing to try this out.”

Catherine hopes the project will help her earn a Silver Award from her Girl Scout troop, but she also wants to make a lasting, positive change in her community.

“I’m hoping that it will prevent graffiti, but I also think it will be a benefit to the community because it will be something pretty to look at,” Catherine said.

“Obviously, we’re very proud of her,” Deb Link said. “Girl Scouts tries to develop leadership in girls, and I think this project is s perfect example of how this program works. She loves art, and that’s why she’s really excited about this.”

About the Contest

The deadline for submissions for the mural contest is March 9, 2012, and the submission period opens on Jan. 9. Mural submissions should be submitted on 8.5x11 paper. The 12 winners selected will be allowed to paint their own submissions on the walls of the College Trail tunnel. For more information on the contest, including information on where to send submissions, check the Parks and Recreation Department's upcoming activity brochure. The contest will be open to sixth- through 12th-grade students in the area.