Bradenton-based artist and muralist Richie Brasil heads to Ybor City this weekend where he will participate in Saturday night’s graffiti art exhibition Crime In The City. Organized by MF Arts Ybor, more than a dozen graffiti and street artists from the region will join in this celebration of the form, exhibiting completed works and installations as well as creating new pieces in real-time for the event audience accompanied by live music from DJ Qeys, Samurai Shotgun, Bangarang and more. Admission costs $10.

Taking its name from the iconic work of graffiti artist Skeme, who sprayed his statement double-wide on a pair of New York City subway cars in the 1980s—“All You See Is Crime In The City”—the exhibit seeks to again juxtapose the power of street art and hip-hop culture to address social issues of the day and that same form’s longstanding marginalization or criminalization by the greater community. The “lesser of evils” in most impoverished areas, said Brasil, graffiti actually represents a choice that should, next to available alternatives, be respected if not outright encouraged. “For me, it was the lesser of all evils,” he said. “It gave me an outlet and it gave me a voice. And that’s what graffiti is for most.”

There is, he added, an important distinction between graffiti (or street art) and vandalism. "Vandalism is vandalism, but graffiti is an art form," he said. "You can no longer dispute that."

As for what Brasil hopes to say with his contribution to Crime In The City, he can’t be entirely sure. The messages he wants to convey through his work change from project to project and maybe even moment to moment. But unity is a constant theme, he said, and in this case celebrating the street art movement and the history of graffiti that he now takes part in. “Skeme was a revolutionary to me,” he said. “This is me paying homage, paying my respects and paying my dues.”

The exhibit will also reunite Brasil and street artist Eddie Rivera, who previously collaborated on last year’s Star Wars-themed murals outside Keeton’s Office and Art Supply in downtown Bradenton.

Crime In The City opens May 28 at 7pm at MF Arts Ybor, 1616 E. 2nd Ave., Tampa.