Salem graffiti artist Eric Tautkus poses at his spring 2020 exhibit “Dementia’s Memoirs” at the Salem Art Association Annex (Courtesy/Salem Art Association)
Salem graffiti artists Eric Tautkus and Chris Casarez are lending their talents to a public health outreach effort Saturday.
The two will create graffiti murals on plastic canvases depicting the Covid vaccine and its safety. They’ll begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Silverton Road side of the Oregon State Fair & Expo Center, near the Lana Avenue gate.
Members of the public can come watch the artists work. The pieces are expected to take several hours to complete.
The event, called “Public Health, Public Art,” is a collaboration between the Salem Art Association and Salem Health to promote Covid vaccination.
“Graffiti art is familiar to the younger, under-vaccinated generation. It’s important for them to be active, be aware, making big decisions,” Tautkus said in a statement.
“Rather than painting on existing walls, artists will create a ‘temporary wall’ by stretching plastic vinyl between posts that have been temporarily placed into the ground for this purpose,” a description of the event said.
-Rachel Alexander
