Street art can be breathtaking and beautiful -- an excellent way to bring vitality to a corner or neighbourhood, not to mention a solid strategy for minimizing unwanted and potentially hateful graffiti. Recognizing these benefits, more and more governments and local business associations are turning over public spaces to artists to be used as canvasses for their imaginative creations. But setting aside a public wall or fence for art is only the first step. Then come the questions. Who gets to decide exactly what form the art will take? Should the public -- the owners of the property -- have a say? The government? Those who live and work in the area? Or is that interfering in the artistic process and getting in the way of the artist's creativity? Do we want government dictating art?
In the latest installment of our "Change My Mind" series, HuffPost asked two individuals who are concerned about the street art question to debate the statement: Government should keep its nose out of artistic expression, even in public spaces.
Arguing for the "agree" side is Gary Taxali, a Grammy nominated visual artist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, Time, Rolling Stone and GQ. He exhibits at The Jonathan LevIne Gallery in NYC, Lazarides (The Outsiders Gallery) in London, and Antonio Colombo Arte Contemporarea in Milan.
Arguing for the "disagree" side is Rob Sysak, executive director of West Queen West, which is the Art & Design District, the Creative Heart of Toronto, and the voice of the local business community
What do you think? Read on, and see if one of these persuasive debaters will change your mind.
Banksy
(01 of08)
Open Image ModalThis is an undated image of an art work from British artist Banksy made available by Haringey Council Wednesday Feb. 20, 2013. The stencil by the famed, secretive graffiti artist of a young boy sewing Union Jack bunting on an antique sewing machine appeared on the side of a north London bargain store last May. Soon the gritty Turnpike Lane area was drawing art lovers keen to see Banksy's typically cheeky take on the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the British throne. Last week it vanished, leaving nothing but a rectangle of exposed brick only to reappear on the website of a Miami auction house. Listed as "Slave Labor (Bunting Boy)," it is due to be sold Saturday with an estimated price of between $500,000 and $700,000. (AP Photo/Haringey Council) (credit:AP)
(02 of08)
Open Image ModalNew graffiti work depicting a rat asking 'Why?' is placed next to a section of a wall where celebrated street artist Banksy's 'Slave Labour' graffiti artwork was removed in north London on February 23, 2013. The work that showed a young boy using a sewing machine to make the British flag has been carefully removed and will be auctioned in Miami where it's expected to fetch around 328,000 GBP (500,000 USD). Residents of the North London area have reacted angrily to the removal of the work, but the auction house says the piece was acquired legally. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(03 of08)
Open Image ModalNew graffiti work that reads 'Danger Thieves' is placed next to a section of a wall where celebrated street artist Banksy's 'Slave Labour' graffiti artwork was removed in north London on February 23, 2013. The work that showed a young boy using a sewing machine to make the British flag has been carefully removed and will be auctioned in Miami where it's expected to fetch around 328,000 GBP (500,000 USD). Residents of the North London area have reacted angrily to the removal of the work, but the auction house says the piece was acquired legally. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(04 of08)
Open Image ModalResidents chant slogans and hold signs during a protest next to a section of a wall where celebrated street artist Banksy's 'Slave Labour' graffiti artwork was removed in north London on February 23, 2013. The work that showed a young boy using a sewing machine to make the British flag has been carefully removed and will be auctioned in Miami where it's expected to fetch around 328,000 GBP (500,000 USD). Residents of the North London area have reacted angrily to the removal of the work, but the auction house says the piece was acquired legally. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(05 of08)
Open Image ModalResidents hold placard that reads 'Bring Back Our Banksy' during a protest next to a section of a wall where celebrated street artist Banksy's 'Slave Labour' graffiti artwork was removed in north London on February 23, 2013. The work that showed a young boy using a sewing machine to make the British flag has been carefully removed and will be auctioned in Miami where it's expected to fetch around 328,000 GBP (500,000 USD). Residents of the North London area have reacted angrily to the removal of the work, but the auction house says the piece was acquired legally. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(06 of08)
Open Image ModalA man holds a placard during a protest next to a section of a wall where celebrated street artist Banksy's 'Slave Labour' graffiti artwork was removed in north London on February 23, 2013. The work that showed a young boy using a sewing machine to make the British flag has been carefully removed and will be auctioned in Miami where it's expected to fetch around 328,000 GBP (500,000 USD). Residents of the North London area have reacted angrily to the removal of the work, but the auction house says the piece was acquired legally. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(07 of08)
Open Image ModalResidents chant slogans and hold signs during a protest next to a section of a wall where celebrated street artist Banksy's 'Slave Labour' graffiti artwork was removed in north London on February 23, 2013. The work that showed a young boy using a sewing machine to make the British flag has been carefully removed and will be auctioned in Miami where it's expected to fetch around 328,000 GBP (500,000 USD). Residents of the North London area have reacted angrily to the removal of the work, but the auction house says the piece was acquired legally. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(08 of08)
Open Image ModalA section of wall where a Banksy mural was removed from the side of a Poundland shop in Wood Green, London, where a new piece of graffiti has appeared. (credit:PA)