One in five graffiti incidents reported to councils in west central Scotland are recorded as “offensive”, according to Glasgow equalities charity Nil by Mouth.

The organisation, which was set up by former Glasgow Times Scotswoman of the Year Cara Henderson in 1995 following the brutal sectarian murder of her friend, has teamed up with city students to highlight the impact of graffiti hate crime on communities.

The Writing on the Wall campaign has been devised by Daniel Murphy, Conor O’Leary and Daniel Mullarkey, marketing and advertising students at City of Glasgow College, who won Nil by Mouth’s Pitch Perfect creative competition.

The annual contest sees more than 100 students compete to create a campaign which challenges hate crime and encourages people to stand up and take action. 

Writing on the Wall, which is touring colleges and main streets in Glasgow, East Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire, uses art in prominent public spaces to spark discussion around issues of identity and conflict.

It features east end artist Kelly Coyle’s powerful artwork, Torn, which shows a young boy being pulled in different directions by those eager to ‘claim’ him as their own, with little thought to the child’s right to choose his own path in life.

Glasgow Times: Torn by Kelly Coyle is part of the project.Torn by Kelly Coyle is part of the project. (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Kelly, a previous winner of the Pitch Perfect competition, said she had been inspired by her own experience to create the artwork, which now hangs in the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, and is used by many schools to encourage discussion around sectarianism.

Daniel Murphy said: “We wanted to run a campaign that highlights a problem but also looks to offer solutions.

“There is a huge difference between public art that makes you stop and think and graffiti that’s put there solely to demean or antagonise people.

“Kelly’s work, and the Glasgow mural trail, have proved successful in helping renew areas and spark genuine discussions about big important issues. 

“Councils have been looking into making more publics spaces available for street art and we are bringing this campaign across west central Scotland today to remind the public that hate isn’t art but art can help eliminate hate.”

Nil by Mouth completed research using Freedom of Information requests into the extent of hate graffiti in Scotland.

Glasgow Times: Dave Scott of Nil by MouthDave Scott of Nil by Mouth (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

The charity’s director Dave Scott said: “Our research uncovered that one in five of all reported graffiti incidents to councils, using FOIs submitted to 30 local authorities, have been recorded as being offensive, and it has been clear for a while now that this is a growing problem.

“Not only are these incidents stoking resentment and hatred but they cost taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds each year to clean public spaces.

“While wishing to highlight the extent of the problem, the students are also determined to highlight the need to provide creative space for genuine graffiti artists to express themselves.

"As Kelly Coyle’s work proves, issues around conflicting identities can be discussed and better understood through art rather than being reduced to the hateful bile we often see scrawled on our public spaces.”