ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – If you’ve noticed the mural on the intersection of Lead and the I-25 on-pass, you’re not the only one. Over the past few months, it’s grown from two flower pots to even a polar bear.

Now, the latest installment is a message for the city: Welcome Art in Albuquerque.

“I wanted to put a message out there that, you know, this should stay. It also is supposed to reflect the community’s response to that, because I’ve been hearing the same thing from the community that, you know, they want this thing to stay,” said the mural artist.

The artist is speaking up after their mural got the state’s attention but wanted to remain anonymous. 

On Wednesday, KOB 4 spoke to NMDOT to find out why they’re going to cover the mural.

“We have to follow the rules of DOT which state if anything is painted, without, or tagged without prior permission, then we do have to treat it such as graffiti and just do the graffiti removal process,” said NMDOT Public Information Officer Kimberly Gallegos on Wednesday.

Gallegos is encouraging the artist to go through the permit process to get permission. The artist says they’ve tried several times, but they couldn’t find much information online.

“They mentioned that there has to be permission from a government body, I want to say, and then it goes through an approval process. And I think we all know that the city is pretty slow moving. I also understand that the City Art Department is pretty understaffed. And these things just, you know, move really slow. Like I said, I do try to get permission, and I would love to work with them to maybe make that process a little easier,” the artist said.

The artist also said they want the language surrounding street art to be updated because they don’t consider their art to be graffiti.

“When you read the laws, it says graffiti. And so I would love for that to change to vandalism.”

They also suggested the city or state dedicate a wall or area that artists can freely paint on. 

As for whether NMDOT does cover it, the artist says they understand.

“I also understand from their side that they’re gonna follow the rules that are set in place for them, and the law and everything like that. So I’m not upset about them covering it up or anything like that. I’m just really pushing for change,” said the artist.

It’s unclear exactly when the department would cover it, but the artist says they won’t stop painting.

“I’m still going to do my art. Like I said, that’s never going to stop. So yeah, if nothing else comes along, then I’m just going to paint this again,” said the artist.