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Most of the conversation about Art Basel focuses on outrageous price tags, celebrity art buyers and the extravagant parties. But art is for everyone, and everyone has created art -- and arguably still does.To highlight the accessibility of art -- that it’s not strictly the purview of people who use only words that end in -ism or write checks with multiple zeros -- WLRN invites you to share your thoughts on #WhatIsArt?See our analysis here.We have two questions, one big and one small:- What was the first creative thing you remember doing? Ask your friends this too. The answers will surprise you.- What is art? In other words, how do you know whether you’re looking at or experiencing art instead of something else?Send us your thoughts over Twitter or Instagram at @WLRN with the hashtag #WhatIsArt. We’ll be sharing some of your responses on our website. And go interact with art!

One Man's Trash Is Another Man's ... Artwork?

Rachel Morello / WLRN

There’s no question that Art Basel brings plenty of people -- and their stuff -- to Wynwood. The question is: How do you keep the area clean?

Leticia Pollock is co-owner of Panther Coffee in Wynwood. She says Basel is her busiest week of the year, so she has to have more people on staff to help keep the place running smoothly – and looking tidy. But this year, Pollock noticed something else helping out: plastic yellow trash cans next to the street in front of her property.

“It’s a new thing, I don’t think it was here last year,” Pollock says. “It’s a great initiative, I don’t really know who did it, but it was a fantastic idea.”

And she isn’t the only one benefiting. Artist Paul Vor138 was happy to have the bins when he was finishing a mural Wednesday morning.

“I just showed up to this wall to paint it, and before I even began there was these trash bins out here,” he says. “It definitely makes it easier for us to clean up after ourselves. I think the streets would be cleaner if more businesses did this. It makes a lot of sense."

Bright yellow bins graced almost every corner of Northwest Second Avenue, and many of the streets nearby. But many, including local Sandro Abate had to wonder: was this meant to be simply trash collection, or was it art?

“I mean, it could be an art project. You never know,” Abate says. “It could be actual garbage or some artist just had some crazy idea. You never know. Their art is everywhere.”

City of Miami workers speculate the bins could have been brought in by the Department of Solid Waste as extra aid for the upcoming week. Locals say they’ve noticed more garbage strewn on the sidewalks lately, and this could be the city’s quick fix.

Perhaps it was public service. Maybe it was the act of a Good Samaritan, or maybe it really was a new installation. Whatever the case, people are noticing.  It just goes to show that almost anything can be seen as art – even garbage.

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