Street Artist Joachim sends in “The WatchDog” to Sniff Out Anti-Social Behaviour in Chichester, 2018

Belgian street artist has been summoned back to Chichester by the local community to bring back “The King of Cats”, which was removed last week due to the mural “attracting anti-social behaviour“.

Joachim was inundated with messages of support last week from the Chichester community, who informed him that the much-loved “The King of Cats” had been white washed. The removal was a mystery until local paper “The Chichester Observer” found out that Chichester Council had issued the removal due to complaints of anti-social behaviour. A petition of 62 residents and their opinions can be found here.

The Chichester Observer asked the people of Chichester “Whether they preferred a blank wall or Joachim’s mural. More than 4,000 Chichester residents voted and the response was massive, with over 92% voting for the return ‘The King of Cats” mural.

Joachim commented about the removal of his mural to the Chichester Observer …

“I know cats can cause all sorts of trouble but to put the blame on a wider social problem on my mural of the ‘The King of Cats’ is just incomprehensible. Across many cities over the world, street art has been known to make a positive impact on a city by further enhancing the city’s cultural status on a global level, bringing further tourism opportunities to the area in the process. I know this view is only represented by a small minority of people as in the meantime I have been inundated with messages of support from the lovely people of Chichester who were very disappointed to see this much loved mural disappear and have also asked me to come back. Thanks again to the people of Chichester for making me feel at home!” Joachim

Joachim was horrified to hear “The King of Cats” mural ‘attracted antisocial behaviour’ within the city of Chichester and took it upon himself to put things right. Knowing that cats can be rather antisocial by nature, Joachim decided to paint “The Watchdog” to watch over the streets and keep the neighbourhood safe.

“Joachim recognises the negative impact antisocial behaviour can have on communities and would like to personally apologise for the actions of ‘The King of Cats’. Chichester can finally relax knowing ‘The Watchdog’ will sniff out any antisocial behaviour.” Rosh Boroumand,   Joachim’s manager and co-Founder of GraffitiStreet.com

As well as reaching out to the Chichester community, Joachim will continue to promote his latest campaign through various projects within the city.

“I have dedicated my mural ‘The Watchdog’ to the people of Chichester, whose passionate and indomitable spirit encouraged me to return to the city and paint once more. I have been overwhelmed with messages of support and for that I am very thankful!” Joachim

Since Joachim painted the “The King of Cats” last year, the Belgian artist has enjoyed sell-out solo shows in Brussels and London, and has recently been commissioned by Disney to paint Mickey Mouse in honour of its 90th birthday celebration.

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