LEESBURG, Fla. – Someone is putting their mark on the walls of Leesburg. The most recent is graffiti art spray-painted on a wall by the abandoned Lee School on North Lee Street. It says “Mute.”
Another piece of graffiti removed by the city displays the same “Mute” signature. That piece caught the eye of Leesburg Center for the Arts Director Maria Stefanovic. She wants to find the artist behind the graffiti to learn more about their work and talk about possible opportunities.
The mystery graffiti has also earned the attention of neighbors.
“I think everybody would like to meet this person ... I don’t know what ‘mute’ means," Jacquelin Gaisson said.
While some people like Gaisson enjoy seeing graffiti, Leesburg police said it’s considered criminal mischief to spray paint on private or public property without permission. Police said sometimes it can take a lot of city resources to remove murals like the “Mute" graffiti and they want it to stop.
Leesburg City Manager Al Minner says public works employees remove small graffiti on a daily basis and usually have to remove larger ones every few months, some with explicit content.
Giasson has lived in Leesburg for about 30 years and says she is glad the Center for the Arts is looking for the graffiti artist. She likes the new murals that are popping up around the city and thinks graffiti artists should have a chance to showcase their work while beautifying the city.
“I think it could make some of our buildings look better," Gaisson said. “They can probably give them a job. It’s very positive that they want that person because they are interested in any kind of art."
Stefanovic and the Leesburg Center for the Arts don’t want the graffiti artist to be in any type of trouble but would like to learn more about the meaning behind the “Mute” art.
If you are “Mute” or a graffiti artist that would like to work with the Leesburg Center for the Arts, contact Maria Stefanovic at 352-365-0232 or visit LCA at 429 West Magnolia Street.