Graffiti Is Detroit History... And It’s Under Attack
Richie Cortes Roldan, a graf artist and cultural organizer, is a 2023 artist-in-residence for the Porch On TAP workshop series at Inside Southwest Detroit.
For artist and organizer Richie Cortes Roldan, graffiti art is more than an art form—it’s a living record of Detroit’s history, reflecting struggle, agency, and transformation. Yet today, while murals are celebrated, many artists who built this legacy have been criminalized, censored, or pushed aside.
“Many artists who built this legacy have been criminalized, censored, or pushed aside.”
Package The Product, Kill The Culture
Through aggressive enforcement, selective permissions, and corporate-driven policies, graffiti writers are being excluded from public art programs, even as their work is repackaged for tourism, development, and profit. Graffiti Is Detroit History is Richie’s declaration that this erasure must be challenged.
The Battle Over Public Art
Before Detroit embraced murals as a branding tool, graffiti writers were painting neglected spaces, on freight trains, and in alleys—building an internationally recognized graffiti art scene that brought artists from across the world to Detroit. Yet it's often the same artists who helped shape this legacy that face criminalization and exclusion from official public art initiatives.
“...writers were painting neglected spaces, on freight trains, and in alleys—building an internationally recognized graffiti scene that brought artists from across the world to Detroit.”
For decades, graffiti writers honed their craft covering Detroit’s vacant buildings, establishing the city as a mecca for urban street art. Under Mayor Mike Duggan, a harsh "war on graffiti" began, and painters faced criminalization.
Now, the very culture pushed underground is also embraced as heritage. Many artists whose work is being celebrated feel their practice is being excluded, and that their histories are being erased. As "public art" thrives, they struggle to access resources for creating and training new generations of artists.
Aerosol Nightmares: Reclaiming Space, Resisting Erasure
💥 Graffiti art built Detroit’s street art legacy. Yet today, the same artists who made the city a global graffiti art destination are being erased—while their culture is repackaged and sold.
But graffiti writers have never waited for permission. Richie’s concept reclaims graffiti art as a vital cultural force and advocates for recognition, agency, and the right to tell the city’s story through its walls. Aerosol Nightmares is the vehicle that carries this message.
➡️ Stay tuned for Part 2:
From the Underground Up: The Birth of Aerosol Nightmares.