Olando Coleman was the 19-year-old from Warrensville Heights who was killed by a passing car on Public Square last week. He was known to some as PERCH, a prolific graffiti artist around town.
Now the moniker is taking on new life: Friends are memorializing the fallen artist with “PERCH” pieces in some of Cleveland’s hottest spots for graffiti, including along the RTA’s Red Line route and at the notorious “Fun Wall” at West 27th and Swift.
Coleman “put in more work in one year than most writers do in their entire careers,” says one artist who knew him. A fund-raiser for Coleman’s family, held last weekend at the Rockstar club, drew graffiti artists from multiple states. — Michael Gill
