Graffiti News

Digital campaigning is reducing work for wall painters

Election wall painters in Tamil Nadu are finding fewer commissions as political campaigns move towards screens. In its April 5, 2026 report from Madurai, The New Indian Express describes a trade that once provided weeks of sustained election work but now depends on scattered assignments. Vehicles carrying LED displays and social media videos form part of that changing campaign landscape.

The remaining painting jobs are concentrated largely in villages and on urban outskirts, according to the newspaper. Party symbols and candidates’ names still appear on walls, but the artists describe a smaller market for their skills. For people who follow street art, the change concerns more than the disappearance of colour. It affects who gets paid to make images in public view and where that work can happen.

These paintings also deserve to be understood through their purpose. They are campaign messages made by working painters, with political commitments and practical deadlines. Looking at their lettering, symbols and painted surfaces adds a visual perspective without removing the electoral context that brings the work into existence.

Permissions help determine where the work goes

Restrictions within city limits are pushing painters towards villages, where permission and wall space can still be difficult to obtain. Su Aadhavan, a painter with more than 42 years of experience, described those obstacles to The New Indian Express. His account connects the shrinking trade to both digital campaigning and access to physical surfaces.

Aadhavan belongs to the painters’ wing of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). He said the group still had around 100 members in Madurai doing political painting. During elections, members travel together to other districts to paint for candidates from allied parties, sometimes without expecting payment.

That distinction matters when considering the economics of the walls. Some painting is a paid assignment; some is also a contribution to party activity. Aadhavan’s account does not establish how much of the group’s work falls into either category. It does show why the number of painted walls alone cannot explain how much income the painters receive.

Smaller paintings mean faster work and more travel

The work described by painter Saravanan involves completing smaller campaign images quickly and moving between locations. He recalled spending an entire day on a large wall in the past. His account of the changed routine centres on party symbols and candidates’ names, with a wall completed in roughly 20 to 30 minutes.

On a busy day, painters may cover up to 60 walls across a constituency, Saravanan told the newspaper. He put daily earnings at around 2,000 rupees. Those figures are his description of the work, rather than a guaranteed daily workload or a pay scale for every painter. Travelling long distances between walls is part of the routine he described.

On the day covered in the report, Saravanan said the route began in Thirumangalam and needed to reach Peraiyur before the day ended. Another painter, Kathiravan, said many colleagues had moved into private painting jobs, while some had taken government contracts connected with elections. The story of a changing visual tradition is therefore also a story about workers finding other sources of income.

The walls can be observed without assuming a visitor route

The report identifies places where painting happens but does not provide an address list or a confirmed viewing itinerary. Its photograph shows artists working in rural parts of Thirumangalam in Madurai. Saravanan’s account adds Peraiyur as a destination on a working route. Neither reference establishes that a particular painting will remain available to see.

For a street-art observer, useful points of attention include how lettering shares a surface with a party symbol and how a short commission carries evidence of manual work. Saravanan said people still stop to look at painted walls. That is an artist’s observation about their appeal; the report offers no comparative study showing that walls persuade voters more effectively than digital campaigns.

Anyone planning a visit should establish the location and access conditions first, respect private property and avoid interrupting painters. The permission difficulties described by Aadhavan are part of understanding the work itself. Exploring a place through its painted surfaces does not require treating every wall as an invitation to enter or paint.

Explore other murals through the Wallscape map.

Source: The New Indian Express