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When most people think about guerrilla art, the first thing that likely springs to mind is graffiti. From daredevils tagging trains to plucky grandmas joining in to paint the bandwagon,
street artists around the world are making their mark. North of the American/Canadian border, an anonymous perpetrator of the genre has been making his or her own quieter contributions in
the form of a series of cheeky plaques affixed to the benches in Calgary’s Bowmont Park. As reported by Global News, the insouciant signage—which includes such irreverent observations as
“Benjy, the first hamster to fly solo around the world, took off from this spot in April 1937,” “Nothing of note happened here—or at least that is what they want you to believe” and “Humans
first invented fire right here in 1903”—initially fell afoul of the city’s policy on commemorative plaques and graffiti and were removed. RELATED: Posse of “Graffiti Grannies” Tag The Town
Alongside Master Spray Painters It turned out, however, that the public actually loved the quirky missives and demanded their return. > Someone installed these plaques on a bunch of
benches in Calgary, > but they got taken down by the city today but I think they're > priceless. pic.twitter.com/h0YoInDpxe > — Hafeez Noorani 🇨🇦 (@FEEZYDoesIT) October 9, 2020
“As the city, we have to err on the side of caution, but in this case, it was a bit too cautious,” the powers that tweet for the city admitted. “Listening to what’s important to Calgarians
is part of our job. If we can make changes for a better outcome, that’s what we’ll do.” MORE: People Use Chalk to Write Plant Names on Sidewalks to Help People Connect With Nature – ‘More
Than Weeds’ With the signs back in place, everyone seems satisfied, although the city would prefer that in future, the artist would give them a head’s up prior to making any additions to his
or her current body of work. Now the fun’s even spreading to other cities, with Alberta’s other major hub, Edmonton, even getting in on the action. > A Calgarian prankster replaced a
bunch of park bench plaques in the > city with weird facts about #Calgary. 😂 > > So I thought we'd join the fun and make some# EDMONTON park bench > plaques too 😝#yeg #yyc
pic.twitter.com/5wilCBZgMr > — Lauren Hunter (@HunterAtHome) October 7, 2020 PASS THE FUN ALONG AND SHARE THIS STORY WITH FRIENDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA…