Graffiti and Street Art's Global Solidarity Movements: Archive, Pedagogy, Performance, and Argument
Dates: March 27 and March 28
Location: University of Pittsburgh Humanities Center, 602 Cathedral of Learning, 4200 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh PA, 15213
Graffiti and street art studies has had a U.S. centric focus obscuring its role in contested and changing cities in a global context. This two-day symposium will convene scholars of graffiti and street art in Latin America, South America, East Asia, and the Middle East to offer a fuller telling of graffiti’s past and present. We will include a series of roundtables where presenters will offer short works in progress and be in dialogue with colleagues at Pitt. The roundtables will be framed by a “gallery,” of photographs of graffiti/street works taken by participants from all over the world, courtesy of the World History Center. We will offer a hybrid student meets scholar session where graduate students will be paired with mentors to share works in progress. We will also have a short book launch for the co-authored volume, Creative Cities, Tourism and Street Art in a Global Frame: The City as Discovery. Attendees are invited on a walking tour of local street art and graffiti in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield and Garfield neighborhoods co-led by Professor Bruce and Hemispheric Conversations Urban Art Project.
Schedule:
Friday March 27
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.: Breakfast and Opening remarks, Dr. Caitlin Frances Bruce, University of Pittsburgh
10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.: Workshop with graduate students and responses by guest scholars
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Lunch
12:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m.: Dr. Nadine Sinno, Virginia Tech University, “Qarraftūnā / You Have Disgusted Us: Disgust, Fear, and Outrage in Lebanese Protest Graffiti”, Response by Dr. Mrinalini Rajagopalan
2:15 p.m.-3:45 p.m.: Dr. John Lennon, University of South Florida, “Street Art Blues,” Response by Dr. Bridget Keown
4:15 p.m.-6:00 p.m.: Walking tour led by Hemispheric Conversations Urban Art Project, meet at Clement Way Free Wall by Trace Brewing, 4312 Main St, Pittsburgh, PA 15224
Saturday March 28
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.: Breakfast
10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.: Moderated discussion of Dr. Ricardo Klein’s presentation, “Social and Cultural Histories of Urban Neighborhoods through Creative Landscapes and Murals (2000–2025): Presentation of the Seoul and Tokyo Case Studies”, Response by Dr. Michael Glass
12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.: Lunch
1:30 p.m.-3:00 p.m.: Dr. Julia Tulke, Emory University, “Athens is the New Berlin: Crisis Creativity and the Politics of Attention”, Response by Dr. Amanda Boston
3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.: Book Launch and Closing Remarks