Street Art Commodification and (An)aesthetic Policies on the Outskirts of Lisbon

Abstract

In this article, I discuss how street art has become an ally of urban policies molded by the creative city paradigm in marginalized neighborhoods of Lisbon (Portugal). Based on a dense ethnography of a peripheral neighborhood of this Southern European city, I follow the trail left by how public power uses the commodification of street art as an instrument for urban regeneration, touristification, and management of inequalities. The different meanings and interests around this policy are examined in street art festivals and tours, focused on the participation of young people as local guides. This urban policy has changed the negative public image of the neighborhood, with street art being combined with a multicultural experience commodified in guided tours for tourists. However, by ignoring the opinions of the residents on the interventions, this policy follows a top-down approach in which street art aesthetics operate as a device of subjugation and maintenance of the subaltern, beautifying processes of exclusion.

An Investigation of the Use of Augmented Reality in Public Art

“…All of the work discussed in this paper has focussed on how augmented realityenabled public art can be used to help people re-engage with derelict urban spaces. There is already an acknowledgment that public art can help re-invigorate abandoned spaces, help restore pride in those spaces and engage the public with the space, encouraging further restoration [30,31]. Through the use of public art, "the unappealing dying spaces of old cities will be transformed into energetic and vibrant little pockets of lively spaces" [32].…”

Street Art in Aveiro: City Walls as Dialogic Spaces of Collective Memories and Identity

“…All in all, street art has evolved into an instrument of urban regeneration intended to grace a public space [9], serve as a mechanism for the revitalization of marginalized neighborhoods [69], construct a sense of beauty and encourage belonging [62] and offer a tourist resource of important economic value along with significant power in the development of a city's character [69]. Furthermore, street art is not only a phenomenon that has been repositioned as a strategic commodity for urban development 3 [73] by transforming the urban landscape; while engaging the public in transformative conversation [74], it also creates an important dialogic space for the community. As Ref.…”

“…Under the Council's Department of Cultural Heritage, GAU "has as its main mission the promotion of graffiti and Street Art in Lisbon, in an official and authorized scope and in a pathway of respect for the patrimonial and landscaped values, in opposition with the illegal acts of vandalism that harm the City" [72]. Quinta do Mocho, for example, once a marginalized Lisbon neighbourhood, is now "one of the most contemporary and interesting examples of street art touristification that the multicultural neighborhoods of Greater Lisbon have experienced in recent years" [73]. A recent initiative that illustrates this engagement with the public is the urban art project Alfa Bravo (www.alfabravo.pt): on 15 May 2022, around 200 people united for one of the largest participatory art projects at nationally, which helped revitalize one of Lisbon's busiest streets.…”

Hotel Rooftops as a Space for Consumption in Historic Centres: The Case Study of Palma (Spain)

“…In this sense, works such as those by Morales [18] and Sanz et al [19] have addressed the private concession of public space through the installation of leisure terraces. Other processes studied have been the commodification of housing for tourism purposes [20,21], the transformation of historic buildings into boutique hotels [22,23], ethnic neighbourhoods [24], culture [2], street art [25], urban landscape [26], or authenticity [27]. However, neoliberal urban policies and practices continue to promote new forms of urban tourism consumption, which implies a continuous commodification of new spaces in the city in search of a greater spectacularization of the tourist offer of cities [28].…”