UPDATES

04/25/08

The good people from the movie BOMB IT are hosting a benefit for Mike Baca and Alan Ket next Friday night May 2nd. 8pm - 11pm at Snitch, 59 West 21st street, NYC. Door fee will be $10 and there will be music performances by Joshua Bennett, Kesed Ragin, Alysia Harris and music by Amore. Hope to see you there.

04/11/08

The past few months have been extremely taxing on Ket. January hit and he found himself incredibly ill. Doctors could not figure out what was causing his mysterious illness. The symptoms were intense body aches and a lack of ability to use his legs and arms. He was bed ridden. Luckily, a Chinese doctor was able to diagnose his condition as extreme exhaustion. We discovered that this is a common illness when dealing with stress. We attribute this happening to the intensity of the cases and the toll they have been taking on Ket. Luckily, he has been able to recover with the help of friends, rest, relaxation, and acupuncture. February has brought us the good fortune of supporters continuing to purchase paintings from the PART ONE show and also our ebay store. Every sale helps pay off the legal debt incurred as well as the fines. Ket has until October to pay his fines so time is limited. PHASE5 in Denmark was generous enough to host a fundraiser in Copenhagen that raised money towards our goals. Thanks to all the writers that contributed art. Next up is a benefit this April organized by the film makers behind the movie, Bomb It. We will update everyone once we finalize all the details.

12/17/07

Last Thursday we hosted the PART ONE show at the Tuff City Gallery despite the snow and freezing temperature. Despite the bad weather we had a successful event that we are all very proud of. As you know its not everyday that one gets to work with a living legend so we were more than thrilled to do it. We would like to extend a special thanks to DOC, MED, and CES whose help made the opening possible. Also there were many artists that came out to show support for PART among them were TRACY 168, Lee Qui�ones, RIFF 170, T-KID 170, FLINT 707, PAID3, FLITE, TRIM, CHINO, KLASS, BREAK, VEN, JOEY, and SOE TNS to name a few.

PART's work is truly one of a kind and a testament to the staying power of the old school, please stop by and see the show if you are in New York City. It's worth a trip to the Bronx and while you are at it you can eat at one of the great places on Arthur Avenue (Little Italy) just two blocks away.

12/12/07

This Thursday, December 13th, we are hosting PART 1 TDS' first one man show. PART is one of New York City's premiere style masters. Please come out and meet this pioneer in person at his opening at Tuff City Gallery, 650 Fordham Road, Bronx, NYC from 7-10pm. A portion of the proceeds will go towards paying Ket's outstanding fines.

12/10/07

Ket just received copies of his new book, Graffiti Planet. It features art from some of the best writers from all over the world such as OS GEMEOS, GHOST, ZEKIS, BIO, DELTA, MICKEY, SMART, SABE, TABOO, DAZE, BATES, PART, DOC, ZEPHYR, SKORE, BINHO, RETNA, and many more. To purchase it go to www.Amazon.com or your local book store. We'll have copies online soon. Thanks to all the writers who contributed to the book.

12/01/07

We are glad to report that Ket finally had his property returned from the NYPD and the DAs office. It was a long process and he almost got it all back. Seems like they misplaced a good amount of his art supplies but luckily his historical archives came back.

11/12/07

Thanks for the show of support on Thursday. The benefit at the 55DSL store in Soho had a great turnout with many friends and supporters coming out and donating money to my cause. It was nice to see old friends like Bobbito Garcia, Lee Quinones, Henry Chalfant, INK76, Sonic, Toofly, EA, and Charlie Ahearn. Remember that the auction lasts until this Tuesday so please don't forget to take a look because there are amazing pieces for sale at great prices. thanks ket.

11/08/07

Finished hanging the Walls Belong to Us show late yesterday and it looks great. Please check out www.thewallsbelongtous.com for images of the artwork and to purchase these special pieces. We have great new art from artists like Logan Hicks, Mario Pena, JA, CERN, Grotesk, KEL 1st, and many others. The purchase of the artwork will help me with legal expenses incurred during my long legal battle. Thanks for the continued support.

10/17/07

The second fund raiser we are having for Ket's defense will not be this week but has been moved to November 8th at 7pm. It is still at the 55DSL store in Soho. Please save the date as we have great new art from many new artists like Barry McGee, SENTO, Persue, and more. Online pre-sales of some selected art works will start this coming Monday.

On another note please also support another local artist, 2ESAE, in his efforts to raise money for his legal defense. His event details are: Mike Baca / 2ESAE Solo Show and Fund raiser Special guest performance by Large Professor L.A.S.E.R. Tag after-party October 22nd, 2007, 6:00-9:00PM At Eyebeam 540 West 21st Street New York, New York. For more info check out graffitiresearchlab.com

10/09/07

Alain is relieved and happy to update everyone on his situation. The lawyers have finally removed their gag order.

“All along their concern was for my freedom and my case being impacted by my writings in public since there are “confidential informants” that have received my emails in the past. In any event I am now free to discuss my cases again”

“As many of you might have heard in the news I have plead guilty to each case against me. After a year of dealing with this ordeal it’s almost over. I plead guilty to one charge in each case only. The deal that my lawyers worked out yielded the following: Three (3) felony convictions on my record $15,000 in fines and restitution. A mural as community service to be painted by me for Brooklyn A 3-year conditional discharge.

It’s a tough deal but one that involved no prison time.

Many of you might want to understand why I would even take a deal since I have maintained my innocence during this process. First I must explain that having three cases running simultaneously is huge and costly. Having three trials back to back would have cost me in excess of $150,000. That’s $150,000 that I do not possess. Second, the risk was too great for me to go to trial. Odds are that if I would have gone to trial I would lose at least one and get hit with the max and do state prison time. I did not want to risk my freedom it seemed crazy and stupid. Lastly, the circumstantial evidence against me was too strong. I do go by the name Alan Ket or just Ket. Regardless if I painted anything or not that fact remains that since I am known by these names a jury might very well convinced that it was me that painted all the alleged crimes. Instead my lawyers and I worked for weeks with the Manhattan DA to come to a solution, a middle ground that I could live with.

So where I am today is home, as a convicted felon, happy to be free and done with the courts but owing them lots of money and in debt. I have my beliefs about graffiti and public art intact. Yet, now I know a great deal more about the justice system here and the corruption that exists on all its levels. And of course I am angry, angry that this had to happen to me in this way. That all this money was spent, better yet wasted, when there are so many more important things to spend our collective time and energy on. But the system needs to be fed, so there I was, food for the system and a great way to get back at me for my past work. A good scapegoat for the press I guess.

What’s next for me is the big payoff. I will be raising money to finish paying off my legal bills, fines, etc. This will be done in the form of another art event and online auction. Many people have approached me to help and I have great new art from fantastic artists to sell. Besides that I will be launching a few initiatives to raise awareness and challenge the way New York City deals with these “art crimes” and at the same time help others in my situation. Especially now that the norm will be to break into artist’s homes and harass them with phony allegations (be careful with what’s on your computers and on your web pages).

I hope that the support that you have given me to date continues. I do need your help in purchasing art. I also need your help and support and raising awareness about over prosecution of art crimes and petty crimes by New York City’s DAs. And lastly, I need your continued support of this art movement. The creators of this art form need to be accepted not criminalized, they need opportunities to sell art and display it publicly and not be imprisoned. I have hope that you will be down with it and with me.

Please continue to check the site for event listings, artwork, and updates. And in the words of Andy Warhol, “art is anything you can get away with.”

PS- In the coming weeks I will post my legal motions, court documents, etc... on this site in order to help out people with similar cases.

These motions cost over $10,000 each so why spend more money when plenty of research has already been done and paid for by my case.

09/28/07

The past week, month, and year have been very hectic for Alain and his family. He has done his best to deal with the cases against him and the pressure from DAs and lawyers to get this behind him. It's been a rollercoaster ride of bullshit and emotion that I woudn't wish on anyone. We have witnessed his outrage and frustration during the months and have been thankful that he has been able to remain positive and strong considering the situation.

Today the DA announced in The Daily News that a deal is done. And it would appear as though it is but, Alain would like to set the record straight since the papers don't have it exactly right. He has agreed to plead guilty to three counts of criminal mischief in the 3rd degree as part of a global deal worked out with all three DAs. The plea deal satisfys the DAs thirst for a conviction in each borough while guaranteeing that Alain does not go to prison. In addition, Alain is forced to pay over $13,000 in fines and restitution. And in what we feel is a weird and ironic twist, paint a mural in Brooklyn as his community service. Alain still needs to make further court appearances to finalize it all but that's basically the deal in a nut shell. Of course, Alain and his family are relieved that he does not have to go away to prison and serve time. But on the other hand we believe that the punishment does not fit the crime. Do artists and journalists have to be punished with felony convictions? We feel like he is being used by the city to make an example for all to see. His public humiliation and conviction supposedly sends a message to the community of intolerance but what we read it as a message of over prosecution.

Alain took the best deal he could before going to trial. He didn't want to continue for a variety of reasons, among them the exhorbitant legal costs and the possibilty of losing one of the cases and having to do prison time. He weighed the cost of the trials (over $150,000) versus the possibility of losing just one case and ending up in prison away from his children. His lack of confidence in the the jury selection process and the legal system speaks to a greater problem of course.

Lastly, the Daily News quotes an unidentified law enforcement official stating, "if he takes another pinch, he's going to jail." This is true. An additional condition of Alain's plea is a conditional discharge for three years. Any arrest can land him in jail for up to five years. Again, quite a heavy deal to be handed especially for someone who is involved in protests and comes into contact with police on a regular basis.

Thank you for your continued support. Stay tuned for more updates. Its not over....

09/23/07

Hi everyone. Thanks again for the massive amount of support in the past month. I am still dealing with my cases as you might know. My lawyers have advised that I temporarily try and stay out of the media and to not discuss details of my case at the moment. I do however want to ask for your continued support. As this case drags on my legal bills grow and will continue to do so.

In order to help pay for my expenses artists continue to donate paintings and we will be doing another online and NYC event. Please mark your calendars for October 18th, 2007 for an event at the 55DSL store at 281 Lafayette street in Soho. New works will be on display by artists like POSE2, Superblast, OIL, DASH167, Todd James, Barry Mcgee, Shepard Fairey, DAZE, Merideth McNeal, Alice Mizrahi, ZEAR, and others.

In the meantime I have been able to produce some shirts with the generous support from a new clothing line, Prophet Apparel. The shirts are available online now on the ebay store for The Walls Belong to Us. They were designed using SHOE's logo by Danny Skinz. Supplies are limited so buy one before they are all gone. http://stores.ebay.com/the-walls-belong-to-us