We were preparing this article about the 5 Pointz Rally for publishing yesterday when the news first broke that the building had been whitewashed in the middle of the night. This piece was originally meant to be a narrative of the rally on November 16, when hundreds of people gathered at 5 Pointz Art Center in Long Island City to show support for the beloved graffiti exhibition space. This article has been revised as a tribute to 5 Pointz and their fight for survival. These images from the rally demonstrate the peaceful path taken by the artists and 5 Pointz community. The whitewash has been received as an act of outright aggression which was experienced as a painful loss by many people. It is unclear what motivated the developers to do this, but all of 5 Pointz’ (legal) artwork was destroyed in a disrespectful and cruel manner. It makes us wonder, who are the vandals here? 5… Read More