CAW Crew Vandalizes Downtown

Gioia Connell donned a top hat festooned with bright feathers, crouched down, put a stencil on the sidewalk, shook her spray can, and painted.

Our first ad was done.

“Smells good,” Chris Randall said.

“Yeah, it does,” Connell said. On to the next spray.

Connell, local photographer Randall, Joy Ford, and Katrina Goldburn of Creative Arts Workshop, and this reporter were on a mission. We headed out of Creative Arts Workshop and made our way to the corner of Audubon Street and Whitney Avenue.

The purpose of the legitimized vandalism (we had a permit) was to spread the word about ​“Hats Off,” a fundraiser and celebration of the chappeaux hosted by Creative Arts Workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. this coming Saturday.

Held in the Park of the Arts behind CAW and Neighborhood Music School, ​“Hats Off” will allow patrons to bid for artist-designed hats and sell their own headwear to benefit Creative Arts Workshop while partaking of refreshments from Meat & Co. and 116 Crown.

Spreading the word, however, also involved making the sidewalks of downtown New Haven a little bit more interesting — at least until the water-based spray paint wears off.

With Connell making her mark first, Ford and Golburn made a trail down Audubon Street and back up to the steps of Creative Arts Workshop.

Which was when Connell mentioned that it might be a good idea to spread out. She handed me my own map, a copy of the permit to spray, a fresh stencil, and a new can of black spray paint.

The stencil didn’t stay fresh for long. Heading down Audubon toward the Green — and after triple-checking the map to make sure this stretch of Whitney was fair game — I put my first image on the sidewalk.

Now is a good time to mention that, probably like most people, my feelings about graffiti are a little complicated. I love graffiti art generally, and most of the graffiti that I see. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of it around — maybe a lot more, especially on some of New Haven’s poured-concrete buildings and parking garages.

But there are limits. I wouldn’t be happy if someone tagged my car, or the inside of Union Station, or even the charming brick building on the corner of Orange and Wall Streets that I pass by so often on the way to the Independent’s office. And I was taught from a pretty young age not to draw on things that weren’t mine.

So when I put the stencil on the sidewalk, even with a permit and a map telling me it was OK, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was doing something wrong. I felt a little bad about it. But then, watching the image take shape on the sidewalk at my feet, I felt good. It felt good to be a little bad.

I made two spray-can rookie mistakes. The pavement I’d picked was too dark, and I put on too much paint. The image was a little too thick, a little too soft around the edges. I kept moving, and making my way south, down the side of the Green. Chapel Street, according to the map, was within bounds. So I set my sights on the intersection of Chapel and Temple.

I painted on every corner. People gave me what I interpreted as long stares, and I kept expecting to have to explain to a cop what I was doing. But it turned out I was just reading into things. Passersby glanced at the images and moved on their way.

By the time I reached Chapel and College, I began to think that nobody would notice or care what I was doing, and got pretty nonchalant about it. I put the stencil down on the corner and positioned myself upwind of it, and sprayed another notice. As I got up, a young man five inches taller than I looked down at what I had done.

“What does it mean?” he said.

I told him. He nodded and moved on. I got as far as York Street, where the line on the map ended, then doubled back. Each time I got a little better at it, a little faster. My second-to-last time, on the corner of Chapel and Church, was probably my best.

I did my last one in the unaccountably high winds near the bus stop on the corner of Chapel and Orange — the other end of the allotted area — and headed back to CAW’s office to drop off my supplies. On my way into the building, a man stopped me.

“Excuse me,” he said, ​“can you tell me what this is all about?” He pointed to the four stencils on the steps of CAW.

I explained. He thanked me. On my way back out, I saw him standing in front of the steps with someone else, explaining to him what ​“Hats Off” will entail. In short, CAW’s spray-based ad campaign seemed to be working.

But why advertise it this way? ​“Even though it is a party and a fundraiser, the point is not necessarily to be a formal gala,” Connell said. The point was to make ​“Hats Off” — and CAW — a little more accessible, and a lot more fun.

“I’ve been going to CAW since I was a kid,” said Connell, who grew up in Branford. ​“It’s always been a great place to be, and to be creative.”

Had she ever been a vandal before? ​“Chris and I were making jokes about ​‘Vandal Randall,’” Connell said. ​“It’s such an opportunity that you don’t usually get. I’d never sprayed anything before and it was surprisingly fun.”

Hats Off takes place May 14 at the Park of the Arts behind Creative Arts Workshop on Audubon Street. Tickets start at $50. Click here for more information.