Lisbon Street Nae meget 2014 International Conference UE Urde adi S Als: |bon Street ‘Art & Urban Creativity 2014 International Conference Editors: Pedro Soares Neves Daniela V. de Freitas Simbes Graphic Design: Pedro Soares Neves Proof roading: Daniela V de Freitas Simées @Authors and Editors Lisbon, November 2014 ISBN: 978-989.20-5138-3 Allrights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced jn any form by any electronic or mechanical means {including photocopying, recording, or information storag and retrieval) without written permission from the editors. ‘Support: CGL1LEESBAR GC TI EE SB AP U uspoa | se @) LH INSTITUTO DE HISTORIA DA ARTE pia nana ROSH sea eis ECT Tanda pra Gina eaTenalogaen Tactical Urbanism Manuel Garcia y Ru van Hoben, Faculdade de Letras ~ Universidade de Lisboa Art(s) in the City. Chronicles of a Spray Can We can understand cities as a cultural object, which can be consumed indifferent ways in base of some cultura patterns. We present here how these diferent experience acts mediate on the conception and perception ofthe city and how urban artis affected by rules that are intimately related to this deciphering of the reality. We make a frst approach to some of the urban art terminology and some of the constraints that writers have to confront on the exercise of their work cities, graft, acts of experience, urban consumer, homocontrol, heterocontro! Mental town You ate in a big city. You are walking through one of the main streets of the city. Now, stop. Observe. What do you see? Apparently a simple exercise, however, lot of variables comes into play that affects our perception of “reality”. Urban life is complex, 4 are the cities and the systems that shape them. Each city responds to different modets of territorial organization and these are influenced by certain factors: whether natural and adaptation and environmental factors such as rivers, cfs, hill, ec.) or social (borders, temporary settiements, migration flows, etc.). Obviously, we did not find such an exact dichotomy in reality, wth “social” actors being a sea of possibilities that alter and modify the organization and delimitation of the city. Urban planning must take into ‘2ccount the polyphony of these elements and be flexible, as the city isa being in constant change. Michel de Certeau argued for a construction of reality from an active exercise, “the walk’. In his book The Practice of Everyday Life he presents a way of reading the city, a way to consume from its praxis and usage. This influential author subverts the traitional idea that the ordinary citizen is a passive subject, a constant consumer unable to decide freely. He introduced the concept of strategy, Which refers to the abilty of an organization, institution or agency to manage, influence and lead a group of people under certain circumstances, prestablished and conventionalized; this would be the case of governments (regardless of reach), corporations and ‘even associations. In contrast to this concept, he suggests the tactics that would refer to those forms in which citizens subvert ‘the limits imposed and adapt their pattern of use or consumption. An example of a strategy, focused on the urban world, could be the formal design of the city: streets, crosswalks, vertical signals, etc. which set ‘maps’. Behind them there are some decisions taken by an authority that promotes a series of practices, hoping that they are met and respected. On the other hand, citizens walk through the city the way they deem appropriate, not respecting the preset itineraries designed to meet such city. Thus creating their ‘own "geography" formed on the basis of their own experience and desires. Citizens’ experiences mediate their choices in different aspects of urban life. Continuing with the previous case, citizens wil subconsciously choose a route to reach different destinations, then the sum of these pathways could be understood from a particular citizen as a mental city set. One of the great contributions of the architect and researcher Kevin Lynch is the notion of mental map. Although this concept already existed, it was developed ‘and evolved in hs work The Image Of The City, where he tried to figure out the dominant forms (elements) in the construction and articulation of the city in the memory of the citizens. This author delimited sensitive elements from the experience with volunteer participants who were required to draw a (their own) city sketch for a visitor who did not know the place. Five categories which we consider interesting to better understand urban design were identified: nodes, stable elements that due to attendance of people oF activties- bear a particular relevance such as subway stations and intermodal stations; imits, establish and differentiate areas; districts, where a certain homogeneity is perceived; roads, pathways or popular familiar communication-ways; landmarks, areas of high interest or high rate of recall for historical reasons, dimensions, design, etc. such as churches, monuments and parks. These ‘categories seem to be recurring in creating a personal city, but are they perceived alike? ‘The Urban Consumer We have used the term citizen so far to appoint any person who travels the city, but we believe that this term does not really fit with the reality of today. Many people in the cities do not have the status of “citizen”, however, because of this they are denied the ‘opportunity to build certain relations ~deeper or superfical- towards the city. The term citizen refers to any person who is by birth or ‘naturalization in possession of full rights and obligations, with respect to the place where they belong or where they live; therefore we find many people who do not meet those prerequisites on our streets. We can meet tourists in our cities who simply vist them and ‘consume the goods and services they have to offer; we can meet with immigrants in the naturalization process, with limited rights and Countless obligations; we can find illegal immigrants, the so-called paperless, who do not have rights, but are somehow subscribed to the obligations of the place... along with other variables this make us question the citizen term for those who build the city, not ‘rom a constructive perspective, but from a compositional perspective. ‘As we said earlier, we spoke about the Decerteurien tactics, which describe how individuals break strategic impositions set by institutions or agencies in the performance oftheir dally life, assuming that they are able to reinvent and adapt spaces for themselves, We see here that they become something more than a simple user, guided and with no decision, to turn into a consumer-creator with his own choice, able to discern what is better, more interesting and more convenient for them. The city thus, is understood as a cultural element or cultural object to be consumed (and created) by a set of heterogeneous individuals whose uses and needs differ, ‘but nevertheless maintaining closed relationships - in variable degrees - with a common physical and legal frames that dictates Certain limits of action and reaction, Therefore, the city may be wholly or partially consumed, we mean that it can be more than walked -in Decerteurian terms-, because that would only describe some of the natures ofthe city. We understand as city the sum of natural offers and the sum of intangible assets that a specific place can offer to those who are traversing their perceptible perimeters. Here, elements that were described by Lynch to demarcate areas and establish boundaries are somehow able to differentiate the start and end of an urban area, based on experience and not on the strategic regulation. n‘The designation of urban consumer allows us to cover a wider range of options and also to set the different cities that make up the plural city. The city as a whole set of experiences (mental cities) of urban consumers will be referred to as Urban Polyhedron’, because ofits polyphony and multiple conception. For proper city management we see that we should include all target groups that circulate through it, regardless of their status or (unregulated situation. These urban consumers have specific characteristics that define and individualise according to a fixed set of variables based on their emotional, legal, cultural and physical relationship with respect to where they are; by knowing them better, we could create strategies that could satisfy the needs of the people that “run" in the city In previous work we defined five types of acts of experience (2019:25), which give us the keys to better understand spatial geography based on usage and cultural practices of the people in our cities. These acts of experience refer to the articulation of the above variables in a given consumer, and are differentiated by the degree of participation that they manifest. Within these previous works ‘we opted for an explanation and analysis ofthe city following a textual model in which the different parts ft as described by Lynch as part ofa sintagmatic model, for this study we chose a less abstract and more focused approach in a traditional urban perspective, To this end, the macrostructural and microstructural categories will simply be considered as a set of signs (places and spaces). Acts of experience outlined below will allow us to understand the public who lve in our cities and the needs that they may have. AA first we would find the Native Experience Act (NEA) where the consumer i fully aware of the sign system of the city, ie they know or they are familar- with all elements: compositional and organizational of the teritory that set up the urban design. This individual demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the interpretive code (local culture) and the constraints of the place (laws). They are able to “commute” between spaces and places with full Knowledge, although they are not aware of ths situation. They know their roe in the urban polyhedron even if they are not conscious of it. ‘Next would be the Guest Experience Act (GEA) which would refer to an urban consumer who does not know the sign system of the city. This type of consumer reads the urban system through comparisons, exclusions and value judgments in base of their own AEN. They are unable to fully understand the system but they do show interest in it. Because of their lack of familiarity and / or contact they proceed with superficial readings, nevertheless, they are able to identity common forms of urban consumption. Here we could ‘mention, for example, an Asian tourist ina western city. The tourist ignores the language, culture, history, legal system, architecture, etc. however, they participate of the city as a consumer (cultural, goods and services... They satisfy their cultural appetite through Visiting different spaces, recognizing different places; they indulge their interests by tasting different cuisines, etc. but fal to see the place through the eyes of native consumer. Just watch and compare their cultural framework where shape is temporary. Their vision ‘and participation in urban polyhedron is superficial. This tourist travels the city and after their stay, sometimes, the “experience” ends. Itis also possible to pass to another level of urban consumption if they are introduced or they pass through a learning process (AEAY. ‘The Biphasic Experience Act (BEA) presents a highly knowledgeable urban consumer with very similar skills to the ones presented by the native urban consumer in what we refer to as the signic decoding urban system. Their knowledge ofthe interpretive system ‘and local constraints are excellent even though they are not native. They can function as locals but they will always keep thelr alien nature. This type of consumer has an important component of evaluation, because although they behave lke a local, they compare their experience in contrast to their native cultural framework or NEA. We could say that they are individuals that commute between different urban experiences: physical, emotional, experimental etc, but tied to some references that are not native to the area. AS an ‘example, we might talk of Chinese residents in the city of Lisbon or the first generation of immigrants in any city. These residents are able to read and participate on the construction of the urban polyhedron, supplying different interventions: acting as locals or foreigners. They are involved on different scales of the urban life and are able to cope with perfect ease between communities and ‘groups. ‘One of the most interesting is the Acquired Experience Act (AEA): the urban consumer intimately knows the sign system. Their relationship with the interpretive system and constraints is the same as a native, Here we could find a transited individual, ie someone ‘who has been initiated, educated and trained in a liminal urban context. Unlike BEA these individuals neither judge, nor compare, they just switch between acts of experience, according to the time and situation. They are able to enjoy the urban act equally as a foreigner and as a local. We could find this situation in the first generation of translocated consumers, or young dislocated individuals ‘who were introduced in other urban universes at an early age, such as children of immigrants (second generation). These individuals are able to commute between acts of experience by obtaining and reaching balance of an equal benefit. ‘The difference between BEA and AEA appears to be in a situation of a feeling of belonging. Individuals feel different degrees of ‘belonging according to the relationship and the settlement of other subjects who share their NEA in the area and with whom they establish deeper or superficial relationships. In this situation we could detach the construction of cultural and urban alien areas inside Cf the general urban picture. In other words, we could find other foreign cities within our cities. To quote one case, we could reference the different China Towns around the world where, upon entering, we quickly realize that we crossed an urban and cultural border, within a particular city, Similarly, we could find an urban consumer who is never present, ie someone who knows the sign system of the city the cultural system and the limitations as a resident but who has never established direct contact with the place. The so-called Virtual Experience ‘Act (VEA) occurs in situations in which individuals learn and internally incorporate into thelr persona, as an urban consumer, ‘compositional elements and cultural traits of a place that is beyond their physical contact. We could tak about those people that have "walk" through a city via computer simulation, or those who have memorized the city before their -eventual- arrival to the place, such as miitary oF individuals who have been trained through video games. The urban consumer therefore is highly pluriform. We could even expand the urban experience acts to regional, national, transnational, etc, experience acts. In this type of spatial jumps we would find common points that would increase to a larger scale. These jumps 2Tactical Urbanism also denote different degrees of subject involvement. An individual could read a country in accordance with national and locel basis, in the same way that an individual reads two different cities. This cultural and spatial expansion would stil be more than a rise or distancing urban act. Urban Art Knowing the people who walk in our streets, knowing how these people manage to understand the world around them and how they create in base of their emotions, their cultures, ther beliefs. we can start talking about street art as a reflection of an urban Before starting we should ask the question, what is art? Its @ question that many have attempted to answer but that seems to have {an unclear definition. For some “art” isin relation to an idea of “aesthetics”, of what is beautiful; for others itis in relation to a concept cf "know-how" or technical knowledge; ths diference is reflected in the popular assessment of the pieces exhibited in museums and galleries. The dichotomy between ars-artis in latin, meaning on one side the concept of creation and on the other side the concept of work, has led to clear conception of atistic activity, whose effects move in the same evaluation ofthe pieces. Nowadays, we talk about arts. The definition of which may also be inherited from the past but is no longer applicable in our world today. When speaking of urban art we find very diferent types of art, referring to different artistic natures. Here are some concepts that we consider as important. There have been several attempts to categorize public art. The most prominent grouping encompasses works, typically modernist, abstract sculptures that have been placed outdoors to decorate the plazas fronting governmental or corporate buildings. (Waclawek, 2005: 66) The above definition refers to the so-called plop art, a common trend that projects the occupation of available spaces by pieces of a, of varying cultural value. Such pieces serve as a representative function, sometimes they are a metaphor of the institution that raises them, and other times they are a meraly decorative form that fils space. Those pleces may be present, as the author tells us, in public and private spaces, with varying visibilty and visitabiity. Then we find a new category called art-n-the-public-interest, which introduces a management or cultural policy that seems highly interesting because of the authority granted (choice) to the urban consumer. These pieces respond to the call of public or private institutions for projects to elicit the public participation ofthe resident” urban consumers. Thus giving them the ability to choose, or Participate in the election of the pieces to be lifted into public space, and even sometimes in private spaces (pieces in foundations, private gardens open to the public, etc). Here, the participatory effect of choice creates an ilision of true democratization of space and art. We must not forget that the institution that promotes the action has the last word, creating a paradox of authority between the parties. Within urban art we could find heritage-art. This would be understandable as the set of pieces that have come down to us as a legacy of eater times. They might be equestrian statues, monuments, fountain, etc. but always respond to ahistorical meaning and their value within a given context, These pleces are usually encompassed in property records and are generally included in tourists’ itineraries, and are protected by public authorities, as they are points of public interest. ‘These definitions lead us to talk about art on display, which can be public or private depending on the location of the pieces and the regulations that control its visibility and vistabiity. We understand, as public art on display, those pieces that are easily accessible, free to consume, and have good visiblity for the urban consumers. Those whose consumption would have -impicit or explict- ‘economic or spatial constraint (a private garden, payment of tickets...) would come to be called private art on display. \We prefer the term art on display, which would transform the city into a museum of magna dimensions. The act of circulating inthe city becomes the act of consuming art, of deciphering the passions that lurk around every corner, admiring the history and soaking up the culture. The art on display describes all those pieces that are within sight ofthe urban consumer and this would include graffiti as an available visual and artistic item in town. For many, graffi is criticized and not considered as art. Itresponds to a double nature: firstly evoking elements of design art, then communication elements reminiscent to advertising (text-claims). Here we might ask whether the mere fact of using artistic elements and concepts elevates graffi as "art". In the same way, and due to its communicational ‘components, we wonder it should be called “information’. In 2008, the Tate Gallery in London and in 2009 the Cartier Foundation in Paris transported this “art of making" to the showrooms, raising this form of painting the formal status of “art”. The insitutionalization Cf grafft-art, therefore, has begun. With this rise begins its study; not only from an anthropological perspective -somehow associated to studies on urban tribes- but as a form of art with styles, techniques and exclusive ways of doing. The current graff, Known as post-grafi, is successor to the hip-hop tradition, but today is not restricted to any particular social or identity group. There are many writers (graffiti artist) who come from social and identity groups, who are not traditionally associated with this urban “art of the spray", as @ consequence of certain openness to professionals coming from the faculties of fine arts, ‘academies of design and advertising agencies, among others. This phenomenon of intergroup acculturation allows us to imagine how techniques from one discipline intersect with each other to enrich the design in the streets, making it not only an art but a form of dialogue. ‘Traditionally, the process of learning the techniques of spray was given by the adscription of an amateur writer in an already consolidated group (crew) in which, typically, one or more senior members share their knowledge and exercise the role of leader. ‘Today, with the height of new technologies many writers learn these techniques through the mass media, including video tutorials available on the internet. Learning techniques can also come from the aforementioned schools, workshops organized by public ‘government bodies, private schools and even by way of meetings or events of different sizes, where curious and uninitiated amateurs ‘can contact "masters" and develop a network. In general, it all starts with the tag. Then, works evolve into more complicated designs, more elaborate pattems, which lead to research; of surfaces to cover, time and materials to be used, among other constraints. But, itis not all Spray-graffli, we could also find yarn-graffti, which consists of covering different surfaces with complex webs of tricot, among other knitting techniques. We could find areas that have been seeded with plants to create new shapes with sufficient capacity to communicate in what is called ‘guerrilla gardening, We could say that under the umbrella term urban graft at, an innumerable set of techniques and art forms are reunited, They have common elements but they areal different; on the one hand, they are considered as illegal atfecting the property 73Cf others with no permission) and on the other hand they have the sufficient expressive and aesthetic capacity to draw the attention Cf urban consumer in performing their daly activities. Control of Graffiti Activity It fs hard to get known in a city as a graffiti artist. tis dificut due to the overabundance of visual impacts that urban consumers receive daily. Street art must fight against advertising, traditional forms of urban art; against time and against the cleanups. Graffiti jis ephemeral; itis done to last a short time. During this short lifespan they should have a real impact, both within the graffiti artist ‘community, and more broadly, into the stroller consumer. It ll starts with the tag, as mentioned; an amateur must sow the city with his signature. Amateurs must raise their notoriety as a prolific artist, being present in all possible comers. They must build a name for themselves. Here the local community, those already initiated into the art of graft, can choose -or not- accept the candidate. Incase of acceptance, the amateur can get a place in the streets without the fear of being erased, or overwritten (covered by other pieces by other writers). This becomes a real competition to be seen, a form of struggle to ensure the best places to showcase their talent and work. Becoming a King of graffi is dificult, it snot enough to be a good artist, other factors also come into play such as notoriety, respect, etc. We found that the activity of the spray art is heavily regulated. On one hand we would find outside elements in the production ‘of works that regulate its creation, implemented by institutions or government regulators; on the other hand we would find other internal control systems that interact and restrict its execution. We could say that this ephemeral artis under strict control. At frst we should talk about self-control, that is, the abilty of an artist to work within a set of guidelines or standard prescribed within their ‘community and be able to add their own personal fai. Within these guidelines we find the imposition of respect to other artists (local or international; acceptance of a certain hierarchy in base of experience or the role performed within the community: the use of available spots, and in some cases, even the use of certain colors, This would be the more personal control of artistic activity, since it depends only on the artists themselves (ethics); they may choose to comply with the rules or act freely, knowing in advance ‘the impact that these decisions may have amongst each ather (except for the community, marginalization... The second level of control could be called homocontrol. This refers to the exercise of control a collective of artists performed on the production of plecas in a given location. We can talk about a certain spirit of an urban artists guild where through influential relationships and personal relationships the best practices of graffit are managed. While the breadth and strengths of these groups of homocontrol ‘are questioned, they are certainly present in every city and they practice different forms of censorship on the participants who do not ‘accept local norms. We could see this type of action, for example, applied to an artist who decided to work on a wall independently ‘and completely disengaged from the local “norm”. Any member of the “guild” in their duty of correction, and with intent to remind to the artist how to work in the area, could (must) overwrite the work with another piece, or sometimes make alterations or simply erase it. The initial artist, thus, receives a notice, which may be frequently repeated as punishment, to the point that their paintings ‘would never be displayed. While this seams extreme, itis rare for a case to reach such heights. Occasionally, i the piece does not follow local standards, because the name of the artist or the value and quality of the piece, it may receive a pardon, or may simply bbe welcomed as an addition to the city museum, influencing post local creation. Finally, we should mention heterocontrol. Ths form of control is external to the writers’ community, and is marked by the bodies of institutional control. The heteracontro, therefore, include all legal or governing codes that regulate the artistic activity in the street. In most Western countries there is no clear direction on the practice of graft, although the vast majority is an offense or an attack on the property of a third party. Generally, we see that local governments are usually those who end up dictating the best practices as {forms of prevention, cleanup and recovery ofthe affected areas. The heterocontrol isthe most feared by urban artists, resulting in the ‘formal prohibition of the artistic activity. Those who are caught in the exercise thereof may sufter very severe penalties, depending fon the damage caused and charges against them. Overall, graft is reported as vandalism but it may be raised as destruction or ‘damageabilty of public or private property; it may even be considered as assault on identity or violation of private property. Penalties vary and there is no unity, So we detect a situation of ambiguity and lack of control within their own legal system. This situation is ‘mediated, in part, under the premise of freaom of expression and right of manifestation of the inhabitants of a place.Graffiti meets an ilegal nature, when practiced "spontaneously" on a surface without the express consent of an owner, but we may find some exceptions such as the professionalized graff. In contrast to the sauvage graffiti of which we were speaking, we can also find works relating to a contract for the provision of services, where a homeowner requests the work of a writer. The owner (recruiter informs the artist of the purposes for which they want the work, ensuring that they complies with all local regulations, The artist (service provider) after the briefing would be responsible for the execution of the service after acceptance of the sketch or suggestions submitted to the owner. For this work, the artist would be paid based on the difficulty of implementation, time spent, materials, etc. to be agreed between respective parties. A “recruiter” can also be a public or private entity that wants to include specific aspects to better approach a specific audience, enhance their brand, corporate image, with a new target group, etc. by exercising this type of pieces. (On the other hand we have cases like the GAU (Urban Art Gallery of Lisbon), in which local governance become aware of the reality of graft, its positive opportunities and negative impacts and they decided to promote good practices in order to avoid vandalism through insttutionalized urban art. The Department of Cultural Heritage of the Municipal Chamber of Lisbon promotes academic research in reference to urban art in its broadest sense; as much as it works for the greater visibility of these artistic forms in the street, always respecting rules that guarantee respect for the property of third parties. They also have undertaken an excellent job Cf cataloging pieces and promoting training actions such as workshops or public seminars. Institutionalization of urban artis seen ‘as a way to prevent the vandalism and deterioration of public space. An optimistic vision that has drawn the aitention of the whole ‘world turing the Portuguese capital into one ofthe foci of creation and reinvention of urban space and urban design and culture, ‘Among the many projects undertaken by this department we find the implementation of zones of free-style execution. Located ‘on the Calgada da Gloria, in the heart of the city, we find a series of walls where the training, implementation and achievement of Urban pieces are accepted freely and legally. This intative allows artists, both amateurs and experienced, to work in the knowledge Of security, and It offers the possibilty of being publicly viewed. Also in the vicinity, we can find large panels where national and international artists who are invited, and scheduled, to perform their works referring to a specific topic or agenda. This initiative 4Tactical Urbanism has managed to stabilize prominent names as well as open dialogue with other major graffiti artists, with the street acting as a ‘gallery or museum, where all urban consumers can see a selection of high quality pieces for free. Similarly, this selection may have influenced styles, formats and themes for many other artists, both local and visitors. Its a form of creation and elevation of urban art {insttutionalized) at the height of art, a way to break taboos and educate the public. One other project that caught our attention isthe “Reciclar 0 Olhar" (Recycle the look), which participated in the concept of art-in-the-public-interest, Pieces forming this project are ‘submitted for evaluation, as concepts by individuals who want to perform or set a public installation, in other words are interventions {rom the people living in the city. Final pieces are elected by public vote and are legally produced and displayed in glass containers Scattered throughout the city. These containers are pre-selected and are included in the strategic design ofthe space, promoting the Visibilty of urban art in all areas of the city \Verb-iconic Geography ‘The urban consumer, regardless of their type, their way of understanding or fitering of the world, can compose a verb-iconic map ‘om capturing pieces of urban art. Asis the case with advertising, urban art must fight for the attention of the urban consumer since ‘many visual stimuli reach each individual daily, therefore the positioning of the pieces is very important. Places are disputed between local artists as we explained above, and only the best, the most daring sometimes, receives the attention of the urban consumer. A graft, a piece of urban art, is seen a few minutes; it might be removed and never been seen ‘again, but for the short time it has been exposed it may have produced thousands of impacts with a high rate of recall in a certain Population. Also, they may have managed to be photographed, immortalized and very likely spread on the internet, becoming viral thus gaining notoriety and winning the battle of its ephemeral nature. Artists should be familiar with the best places to exhibit their work. No wonder that many are trained in specialized areas, such as in the premises of the GAU, of in liminal places where surveillance and heterocontrol force is less noticeable, before they leap into mainstream space. Liminal spaces are undoubtedly true turban schools and art museums. They are places within the city boundaries, nat frequented by the general population and generally in between processes of change. We understand liminal places as all those that respond to a process between states but do not fall into marginalization. Bridges, abandoned bulidings, factories etc. are examples of the minal spaces that urban artists use while developing their skis. We also appreciate that the city may have zones of saturation. We understand these areas as het spots where urban-grafit-works mainly develops intensely. Usually given by proximity to settlements of depressed populations, where haterocontrol forces are not Present or they seem to be almost non-existent. Artists, therefore, have easy access to large surfaces and also enough time for the production of their works, n this type of area native authors tend to flourish with motivation to report a situation, which they judge as balanced, or far. We find equally low saturation areas in the city, which calls to our attention that they generally cocrespond to places with greater vigilance, or places with a more pronounced foot-tratfic. Saturation zones may be those areas that due to high Visibility become targets of attention. They are easily visible places that effortlessly catch the attention of the urban consumer. They ‘would compete with advertising panels, though often attacked (adbusting), which ends with the victor holding pieces of local authors (usually young) who try to make a name for themselves in the public space. Recently, our attention goes to the capacity of urban art turning liminal places into part of the mainstream space. Graff attracts a new crowd of onlookers and fans of this type of pop art, subverting the aforementioned space (liminal into a place of pilgrimage, helping to reactivate unfrequented places and promoting new economic, touristic flows and revaluing the real estate, Urban Arts and Urban Consumers Urban consumers are a challenge for public and private management as they are plural, It is difficult to foresee all the needs they may tequire and even more difficult to imagine their reactions to any decision concerning them, Many of these reactions Can see them materialized in associative movements or protest marches. The plurality of approaches and interests makes dificult to satisty everyone. For a visitor (VEA), a fully decorated building with graff may be an attraction that would motivate them to return to town; the same building may be offensive to a native consumer, sesing an element of his past invaded or attacked, Street art by its physical adhesion to urban surfaces and their direct contact with the past, raises both passions and misgivings. Here is where the institutionalization of urban art is Imposed. Education and appropriateness of messages are composed, as ‘essential, in such situations where obscene messages, or political, etc. may offend the sensibilities of other consumers, raising unexpected movements. Programming and designing strategies is imposed as a step to be taken by all municipaltes opting for a model that helps the evolution and education of this art, rather than oppressors models that subscribes zero tolerance. Similarly, we advocate urban art as a vehicle for bringing together consumers, a way of approaching others and learning from their experiences and their understanding ofthe city. Certainly, art can be used as a faciitator between cultures and can help build bridges of mutual understanding as we have seen on the actions taken in the Lisboan neighborhoods of Mouraria and Graca. Now, open your eyes. What do you see? ae cu 2 Th elon urban consumer eters to hose cormurars hous us pcan a prscas pace Sed wh nom they mann Nigh pcan ae. pee Ses acest eater tery eae ee aos eee eee eee eee eee Fees rat ere ree eee eee omer ree Seed aos Pitted teen ats tinecina Denies Reems meres ee Te Soe, a ee eee ee eee ERE gy eeu emeoemene BS Ba cee eeepc i ere teen ro cater eee cee ee ran A. (1969, ein ine pbc rest An Abr Ul Reacarc Pres, Fee sie ee negra an CN FSS nga ag eto ean To eee Wioctwek, A 2011). Graft ad stot rt New York NY Mares & Hun, he 75