Street art by an all-female group of graffiti writers and spray painters was vandalised by “local taggers” in Croydon on Sunday night.
The art, completed by women’s movement Femme Fierce in St George’s Walk and the surrounding area, was covered in silver, purple and black “tags”.
The street murals were commissioned by art dealer Kevin Zuchowski-Morrison, owner of Rise Gallery, as a part of a project to turn the borough’s town centre in to a “brighter” art quarter.
Members from Femme Fierce were invited to the shopping area and its surroundings to decorate shop shutters and walls on February 15.
Following the damage the group said: “The Croydon Arts project deserved an opportunity to flourish, rather than have mindless idiots destroy it within a few days”.
Zuchowski-Morrison told Eastlondonlines that he is “sad” about the “awful” incident. “They have vandalised every single one of them”, he said.
Through help from local press and Croydon Council Zuchowski-Morrison was today able to find the three “local taggers” that reportedly caused the damages.
The gallery owner and the taggers have called a “truce”, he said.
Zuchowski-Morrison said: “They didn’t realise what they did and they were all really sorry. They thought it was a free-for-all area. They were worried about prosecution.
The “taggers” allegedly said they would not do the same mistake again. They will not be reported to the police.
The gallery owner was “overwhelmed” by the support he got from artists, local people and the council. “A lot of people came down today to help out”, he said.
Some of the street art was “beyond” repair and could not be saved, but artists have offered to help re-paint the murals.