Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Graffiti

Many pages already carry promotional tone intended to give favorable light. I thought it maybe more encyclopedic to just cluster individuals together into one page under their moniker, such as for MOOK. I welcome input. Graywalls (talk) 04:30, 22 January 2019 (UTC)

The article A.C.A.B. was woefully undersourced and appeared to be "things people believe based on word of mouth" vice properly-sourced WP:V material. I've managed to cite a lot of material and remove uncited, and added WikiProjects to the page. The image for the article is not a very good example though, so if someone has a better image that'd be great. MatthewVanitas (talk) 03:40, 19 October 2012 (UTC)

Looks much better. Great job! The new image looks perfectly adequate too. Sionk (talk) 10:35, 19 October 2012 (UTC)

Hello fellow graffiti heads :) I'm new to Wikipedia so rather than me running around on every page & getting loose on the edit button I'm putting my efforts to learn more on only 2 pages. 1 page I created called Graffiti Kings & the 2nd page that relates to Graffiti Kings of artist Darren Cullen. My edits keep getting taken down & I'm told its because my writing sounds to promotional or spammy? Is there anyone on here that would kindly help me add good content to these pages. Thanks in advance Sarah1971 12:40, 15 March 2014 (UTC)

Hi people :) I could really do with your help as the page Graffiti Kings Im working on has now been given a Notability Box attached to it. Its asking for more reliable, secondary sources about the topic to be added. I have added many web links in the talk page if this helps.

Thanks in advance Sarah1971 16:29, 16 March 2014 (UTC)

I've created an alternative version of the project's logo that has a transparent background and have the spiked extended and made black.

-- NotCharizard ^🗨 15:45, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

Cool – great work! Wikociewie (talk) 07:05, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

I’ve noticed that although the project’s template is displaying ‘semi-active’ on the project page it’s showing ‘(inactive)’ on individual article talk pages. Not sure how to change this - any ideas @Notcharizard? Wikociewie (talk) 07:43, 28 August 2024 (UTC)

Yes, I’d noticed this too. There doesn’t seem to be any space to change the status in the template code. I read this info on activity statuses but didn’t fully understand - it seems like semi-active may be classed as a type of inactive? -- NotCharizard ^🗨 11:17, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Nice to see a bit of, er, activity anyway :) Sionk (talk) 23:22, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Hooray! I think I’ve sorted it! Wikociewie (talk) 13:29, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

I've noticed that several images used on WikiProject Graffiti pages have been nominated for deletion by @The Squirrel Conspiracy based on 'no freedom of panorama'. I thought it might be useful to open a discussion about how broadly this applies and how it effects this project.

I have read the copyright rules concerning graffiti, which make sense, but I'm still unsure how this applies to the use of images on Wikipedia articles. There's literally hundreds of thousands of images on Commons of graffiti - with most articles in this project using them - does this mean all these images (except ones produced prior to 1978 or uploaded by the artist) will have to be removed?

I wonder if an image such as the Iz the Wiz one currently up for deletion, and used on this project's main page, can be potentially uploaded as a non-free file on Wikipedia? On a side note, I also notice that the images put up for deletion so far have been graffiti and street art of a more conventionally 'artistic' aesthetic, rather than any tags or throw ups for instance.

I think some further clarification would help. Wikociewie (talk) 10:20, 28 October 2025 (UTC)

I also notice that the images put up for deletion so far have been graffiti and street art of a more conventionally 'artistic' aesthetic, rather than any tags or throw ups for instance.

The consensus on Commons is that tags - as plain text - don't have sufficient originality to qualify for copyright protection. Throw ups are more complicated, and have to be done on a case-by-case basis. There's a fair bit of resistance to getting rid of those, but I personally feel it comes from a desire to keep the files more than an honest assessment of their copyright status.

does this mean all these images (except ones produced prior to 1978 or uploaded by the artist) will have to be removed?

Per above, tags and some throw ups are safe. Additionally, graffiti in countries with freedom of panorama for 2D artwork, like Spain or Mexico, are also safe. If you go to Commons:Freedom of panorama/table, any country that's green in the 2D Artwork column is fine, unless there's a note (as in Israel's case) that says that it doesn't apply to purely decorative art.

I'm still unsure how this applies to the use of images on Wikipedia articles.

If it's not free and is removed from Commons, you can only use it on English Wikipedia if it meets the non-free content criteria. #8 is the most important one for determining what you can and can't have in articles.

In the meantime, I would suggest that - for general use (illustrating specific concepts), or artists with work all over the world) - you start replacing images from the US, UK, etc. with images from countries that allow freedom of panorama. Category:Graffiti by country will be helpful as a starting point.

@Wikociewie: Hope this helps! The Squirrel Conspiracy (talk) 16:43, 28 October 2025 (UTC)

@The Squirrel Conspiracy There's another streetart category and it's images up for deletion :-( This time for streetart in Whistable UK which is the home turf of "Catman"

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:Deletion_requests/Files_in_Category:Street_art_in_Whitstable Back ache (talk) 13:31, 1 February 2026 (UTC)

Just notifying members of this project that there is a Conflict of Interest edit request relevant to this WikiProject at the Chor Boogie article. DrThneed (talk) 03:29, 3 March 2026 (UTC)