In the mind of chalk artist Joshua “Lakey” Hinson, intertwined chalk circles represent unity, togetherness, life cycles, blossoming flowers, overlapping friendship groups and beautification of civic spaces.
But in two run-ins with VIA Metropolitan Transit police, Hinson’s erasable, ornately patterned and pastel-toned chalk drawings equate to criminal mischief and trespassing.
On Feb. 6, Hinson was briefly detained while drawing elaborate patterns on the concrete surfaces around a bus stop at West Woodlawn Avenue near Fredericksburg Road, issued a $100 citation for criminal mischief and released with a warning to stay away from that bus stop for one year.
Two days later at the VIA Centro Plaza Transit Center on South Frio Street downtown, Hinson was arrested on a charge of criminal trespass after drawing abstract circle patterns near the plaza’s circular center. He spent the night in jail.
Beautifying neglected spaces
As he goes about his work, Hinson regularly records video with audio and frequently posts on social media, including the recent detainment and arrest. His narrations center on his belief that he is calling attention to neglected public spaces, including those frequented by homeless San Antonians, many of which he is familiar with having spent the majority of his life without a legal address.
His tone is sometimes earnest, at other times lightly taunting when addressing what he believes are the failures of public agencies to adequately maintain public space.
In a series of October social media posts, Hinson demonstrates how his large-scale patterned chalk drawings — these included writing, with a list of banned books — were quickly power-washed away from a Central Library plaza, and shows how accumulated grime was incidentally washed away, though grime in unchalked areas remained.
That incident inspired Hinson to select still-grimy areas for new drawings, resulting in those areas being power-washed by Center City Development and Operations employees who are charged with maintaining downtown public spaces. Hinson expressed vexation that public funds are spent on power-washing what he considers temporary public art while less attention is paid to regular cleaning and maintenance of those areas.
“This is so much of your tax dollars, because [a] guy is doing sidewalk chalk,” Hinson said in one social media post recorded just before his arrest. In the video, multiple VIA security and transit police officers are seen congregating around Hinson as he works on a drawing and films a small homeless encampment of several tents across the street to illustrate his concerns.
Centro President and CEO Trish DeBerry said she and fellow Centro employees sympathize with Hinson’s efforts and have tried to work with him on legitimizing his chalk drawing by offering specific public spaces for him to decorate.
DeBerry said Centro has been “supportive of Mr. Hinson’s art where we can be very supportive, just as we are all artists who beautify downtown.” She noted that Centro has been “instructed by the city of San Antonio, [San Antonio River Authority] and VIA, who we have contracts with, not to remove that art.”
However, if private property owners complain or if public spaces have been urinated or defecated upon Centro will have the area power washed, DeBerry said. She explained that Centro is responsible for maintaining 44 million square feet within the public improvement district downtown.
“We have tried very fervently to be respectful where we can be respectful and keep the artwork intact because we’re appreciative of it,” DeBerry said.
‘So-called art’
Hinson first drew public notice last year when he was arrested by police in the Bexar County municipality of Leon Valley for drawing in chalk on sidewalks, allegedly for violating graffiti laws. Although he was quickly released, the City of Leon Valley later reached a $16,500 settlement with Hinson over the arrest.
In Hinson’s February arrest by VIA police, an incident report provided by VIA stated that Hinson was arrested for refusing to leave the property when asked to do so. A written report by the onsite VIA security officer described Hinson’s drawing as “defacing” VIA property.
In an emailed statement, VIA Director of Communications Josh Baugh would not comment on the arrest. However, he noted that VIA maintains nearly 6,000 bus stops across its 1,200-square-mile service area and that its employees “are responsible for cleaning and maintaining all stops at least weekly.”
More frequently used bus stops “are cleaned near daily” and VIA will dispatch “crews to clean stops when it receives requests from the public.”
“Cleaning crews routinely remove graffiti and other markings from stops, shelters and other VIA property,” Baugh stated. “If someone is observed making markings, they will be asked to stop. If they do not, they may be cited by police or detained.”
A different perspective
One recent sunny day along Austin Street near the Hays Street Bridge, Hinson was out drawing his signature large, colorful patterns of overlapping circles on the sidewalk around a forlorn empty lot.
He explained that the design is ancient, used by Sumerian and Egyptian cultures, quilt-making grandmothers, and is commonly referred to as a “six-petal rosette.”
Hinson said he has frequently experienced homelessness and identifies with what people face while living on the street. He hoped his art would help draw attention to the lack of trash receptacles, portable toilets and other facilities in the area.
“The particular area we’re in right now is one of the more harsher areas of human neglect and sadness and struggle, like so much homelessness out here,” he said.
He characterizes himself as a street artist and activist and said his critiques are part of his advocacy for people experiencing homelessness to be able to live better, cleaner, safer lives. In addition to drawing and writing in chalk, he has distributed free Narcan and brings trash bags to his drawing sites to clean up refuse.
“Even the organizations I get upset with, there’s so many hardworking good people that are just doing their jobs,” he said. “But it’s about us just trying to be more aware and try to look at things from a different perspective and see if there might be a more effective way of addressing” the issues at hand.
DeBerry emphasized that Centro representatives have spoken with Hinson to offer dedicated space and publicity for his chalk art, but that “there is a refusal on his side to really compromise or even have conversations with others that would like to be supportive of his art.”
Hinson countered by saying that his work is not about drawing attention to himself, but instead about “trying to make a situation better.”
Asked about engaging in coalition-building to gather support for better maintenance of public space and more resources for the unhoused population, Hinson admitted that he does not have “the amount of stability it would require for me to get something done like that,” and that “using chalk that costs a few dollars and having very little help on it, I’m able to raise tons of awareness.”
Artist Angela Weddle created a GoFundMe campaign to raise bail for Hinson after his arrest. She sees him being punished for “existing outside the system.”
“Chalk art is not something we should be frowning upon,” Weddle said. “There are far worse things people could be doing. …. He’s trying to get people engaged. … He’s doing something positive.”
