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

Author

Listed:
  • Anabela V. Simões

    (ESTGA/CLLC, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal)

Abstract

In urban centers around the world, street art has become an unavoidable element of the landscape. Located in west-central Portugal, Aveiro is no exception to this trend, and the art form has been used to enhance the cultural vibrancy of a place where tourism is one of the most important economic pillars. Seeking to look beyond the value of street art as a tourism product, by combining observations and photos from field research with bibliographic and documental data, as well as residents’ responses on social media, this paper adopts an autoethnographic approach to offer an exploratory, (self-)reflexive perspective on how street art has evolved into a phenomenon that has contributed to locals’ cultural identity (re)construction. Drawing on Jan Assmann’s cultural memory theory, it is argued that street art can be understood as a form of communicative memory, an ephemeral vehicle into our history, knowledge, traditions and practices, one that, by retelling the story of who we are, stimulates awareness of selfhood and a feeling of belonging to a place and a community.

Suggested Citation

  • Anabela V. Simões, 2023. "Street Art in Aveiro: City Walls as Dialogic Spaces of Collective Memories and Identity," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:54-:d:1080294
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Claudia E Henninger & Caroline Foster & Panayiota J Alevizou & Chris Frohlich, 2016. "Stakeholder engagement in the city branding process," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(4), pages 285-298, November.
    2. Andreea-Loreta Cercleux, 2021. "Street Art Participation in Increasing Investments in the City Center of Bucharest, a Paradox or Not?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-22, December.
    3. Arlindo Madeira & Teresa Palrão & Alexandra Sofia Mendes & Ernesto López-Morales, 2021. "Perceptions about Tourism and Tourists in Historic Neighborhoods: The Case of Alfama," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-14, July.
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