Milan's PAC mural by Blu and Ericailcane faces possible erasure amid controversy

Ten years after the landmark exhibition 'Street Art, Sweet Art' at PAC in Milan, the fate of a large mural by Blu and Ericailcane on the museum's exterior wall is uncertain. The exhibition, curated by Alessandro Riva and opened on March 6, 2007, was the first Italian group show to institutionalize street art, writing, and graffiti. To mark the anniversary, PAC organized a five-day program (March 8-11, 2017) of talks and workshops on conservation, collecting, and urban regeneration, curated by Chiara Canali and promoted by the City of Milan. A roundtable and public survey were planned to decide the mural's fate, sparking protests from artists who launched the #occupypac campaign. They accuse the administration of using the survey to justify a pre-decided erasure, citing a pattern of systematic removal of street art in Milan. Former culture councillor Vittorio Sgarbi, who conceived the original exhibition, defended the mural as a balance between libertarian gesture and public commission. The debate highlights ongoing tensions between public institutions and street art.