AJ Vanderelli spoke to a woman who teaches yoga at her art studio The Vanderelli Room on Saturday morning when the artist who had painted the mural in the studio approached her and noticed that many parts had been spray-painted.
“When the three of us spoke, he noticed the damage,” said Vanderelli. “They literally hit every side (building) and art that wasn’t in the building.”
The previous evening’s murals and other works of art at Franklinton’s The Vanderelli Room and Chromeedge Studio’s art studios, including the Black Lives Matter mural, had been vandalized.
According to an Instagram post by the Franklinton Arts District, “a large amount of artwork has been damaged,” with most of the damage – spray paint on artwork – to “Stolen Joy,” a Black Lives Matter mural by local artist Katie Golonka commemorating “45 black and brown Americans whose lives were killed by the police. “
“We are deeply saddened by the latest act of vandalism featured on The Vanderelli Room,” art group The Dispatch said in a statement. “Malet” Stolen Joy “by Katie Golonki … And other artists whose work has been devastated represent the values of inclusion that we stand for in the Franklinton Arts District.
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The group added that “it will not allow hatred towards others to be silenced by news of an outbreak of racism in our country.”
“The outpouring of support for the Vanderella Hall is a sign that art can positively influence culture,” reads the statement. “We will continue to be a neighborhood that represents inclusion, justice and diversity at the heart of the values of the City of Columbus.”
According to Vanderella, this was the second time that the Stolen Joy mural had been specially devastated since it appeared in 2020 after George Floyd’s murder and Floyd’s face had been spray-painted out for the first time.
