page_title: Crack is Wack
section_title: Creating the mural
hierarchical_section_title: Crack is Wack / Creating the mural
caption_attribution_description: English: Street artist and social activist Keith Haring poses with his anti-drug mural Crack is Wack created in 1986 in East Harlem, New York City.
context_page_description: Crack is Wack is a mural created in 1986 by the street artist and social activist Keith Haring. Located at East 128ᵗʰ Street and 2ⁿᵈ Avenue in East Harlem, New York City, the mural serves as a warning against crack cocaine use, which was rampant in major cities across the United States during the mid- to late 1980s. As a symbol of anti-drug activism, Crack is Wack commemorates Haring’s powerful sociopolitical presence as an artist and remains a part of New York City’s vast repertoire of iconic public art.
context_section_description: Without having been commissioned – or even given legal permission at all – Haring set out to create Crack is Wack on the wall of an abandoned handball court in a park near Harlem River Drive.  Upon the completion of the mural, Haring was arrested by the New York City Police Department for vandalism of city property and faced potential jail time in addition to heavy fines.  However, media sources like The Washington Post and The New York Post, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and even city locals themselves verbalized their support of Haring's mural in the wake of the crack epidemic. Therefore, Haring avoided legal obstructions and the mural was to be left standing.  After having been released from his arrest, it was discovered that the mural had been vandalized and transformed into a pro-crack mural.  As a result, Haring recreated a second version of Crack is Wack that relays the same style and anti-drug message but exhibits a new arrangement of different figures.
caption: Haring poses with the original version of Crack is Wack
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