Nearly 200 self-employed street artists from a Shenzhen village renowned for its oil painting face losing their jobs as the result of a clean-up campaign by the city's urban planning authorities ahead of this summer's university games.
'More than 10 painters who rely on the outside walls of residential buildings to showcase their products have been jobless since local authorities demolished the structures last Tuesday,' said Weng Yibi, a painter who rented a couple of walls for 1,000 yuan (HK$1,183) a month in Dafen village.
Weng, 40, said nearly 200 oil painters had been operating similar businesses in the village since 2005. They had received notices on Thursday issued by the Buji township government's management office saying all illegal structures - buildings, advertising hoardings and canopies - would be demolished to improve the environment because Shenzhen was hosting the Universiade in summer and competing for the honour of being named a 'civilised city'.
Liao Fengqing, a veteran art teacher at the village, said he had seen town management officers demolishing street painters' stalls and display stands attached to walls.
'I have no objection to the local authorities getting rid of improperly run stalls, but most of the paintings hanging on the walls, at least in my opinion, are good-looking,' Liao said.
'In a bid to sell more, it is in the painters' own interests to make their products look appealing.'
Many painters affected by the crackdown said they did not believe that improving the village's image was the sole reason for the demolition of their stalls, which have added a touch of colour to the village's streets.
