Local artists and members of the Bailey’s Bay community voiced dismay after colourful murals in the area were covered with white paint over the weekend.

Several people imprinted their artistic vision on to empty walls along the Railway Trail in the neighbourhood through the Bailey’s Bay Community Mural Project in April.

However, murals completed by Kyle Simmons, Jahbarri Wilson, Kayuntae “Kay the Healer” Ming and Kathy Carter were covered in white latex paint, while aspects of other pieces were altered.

Shanna Hollis, the chairwoman of the Bermuda Arts Council, said she believed the damage spoke to a deeper issue about how Bermudian artists and their work are treated.

Ms Hollis, who contributed to the project and helped prepare the wall for the artists, explained: “It sparks conversations about our stories and our history and the island’s respect for and acknowledgement of the arts.”

She said that while art is subjective, it was unfair to the artists and the community represented in their work to damage it.

Ms Hollis added: “You wouldn’t outwardly go and roll a piece of paint on somebody or hurt them in that way, so why do that to their artwork?”

Ms Carter, an amateur artist, said she was “disappointed, hurt and angry” that her first-ever mural had been “whitewashed”.

However, she urged everyone who was affected to put their best foot forward and be there for one another.

Ms Carter, whose mural included a globe, said she was among the area residents approached for the project by Tinée Furbert, the Minister of Youth, Social Development and Seniors and MP for the area.

She explained: “I live in Harlem Heights — we have a block party, that’s where we came up with Harlem World and that’s how the globe got into the picture.”

Mr Simmons and Mr Wilson’s mural, which depicted lizards battling, was created as a reflection of their childhood pastime of catching lizards.

While disappointed by the damage, Mr Simmons said he believes that the public’s reaction to artwork is as important as the art itself.

He explained: “Someone felt strong enough to make an effort to go and paint over things, and I think there’s an interesting conversation to have there.

“That being said, it’s a loss for the community and unfortunate that someone felt the need to censor the expression of others, especially those that live in the area and have, in the past, had their art become part of the neighbourhood.”

The Walsingham Lane sign on Adrienne Smatt’s mural was also whited out, but the rest of her piece was untouched.

Ms Smatt said: “We’ve put so many hours into this, we had government approval and backing from the minister and community. To see this happen six months later is incredibly disappointing.

“It was something that a lot of us thought was going to be there for years to come.”

Ms Furbert condemned the whitewashing in a video seen by The Royal Gazette on Tuesday.

She said: “[The mural project] was a community effort, when communities come together like this, it’s very meaningful, and for someone to just come and destroy it, it’s really heartbreaking that we have people in our community who care less.”

Ms Furbert told the Gazette that the whitewashing showed a “lack of humanity and selfishness” and urged those responsible to not damage other work.

The minister encouraged artists whose pieces were impacted to keep their heads up.

She said: “There’s a potential that something like this would happen, but I want [these artists] to know that they have my support to continue on.”

Nhuri Bashir, the originator of the Bermuda Walls Mural Festival, said: “These artists put their heart and souls into their creations and to have them vandalised is very disappointing.”

James Cooke, whose mural in the project was inspired by his childhood in the area, was made aware of the “whitewashing” over the weekend.

He questioned why only certain pieces, including a tribute to the Harlem Heights community, were painted over while others were not.

Mr Cooke explained: “It’s not cool — are they going to go back there and paint their own thing over it? What is the statement here? It’s very confusing.”

He added: “If someone was perturbed or had an issue with it, they could have taken other avenues aside from painting it white — at first glance, I thought somebody was trying to put a sealer on it and used the wrong sealer.”