What’s Politics Got To Do With It?

Abstract

Street art is a type of visual art that is often created in urban environments, adorning the walls of buildings, streets, and other publicly viewed surfaces. Despite its unfair reputation as “vandalism,” street art is increasingly recognized as an expressive art form and a feature of urban visual culture. Challenging traditional conventions of art, street art is radical both in its production and display. In its production, street art is anti-authoritarian and reclaims public space; in display, street art engages with everyday onlookers dialectically. As street art has transformed the possibilities of artistic display and production, so too must libraries respond by providing the information literacy needed to study and understand street art within its sociopolitical contexts. Libraries can intervene by liaising between street artists and users to increase public awareness of street art and dismantle negative stereotypes, and by providing classroom instruction that connects information literacy with the sociopolitical aspects of street art. Finally, art libraries can communicate the risks in creating street art to protect potential practitioners.