Shoreditch, is a suburb in London that embraces street art and graffiti: wall upon wall is covered with tags, pieces, murals, sculpture and paste ups. It is a feast for your eyes and moves between stylized pieces and vibrant imagery, to political commentary about what is happening around the world (including some not so complementary images of Boris – the UK’s Prime minister).
To my surprise, there are also a significant number of paid advertising images: that is, corporations paying artists to paint a wall instead of using a traditional billboard.
While recently visiting London as part of my research, I was inspired by an article that discusses the role of street art tours. Andron examines the function of the street art tour industry and argues that, these operators are creating a “touristifcation and gentrification” of the subculture and the environment that… (they) exist in (2018, p.2).
In reflecting on Andron’s arguments, I contemplated whether this was problematic or beneficial to local suburbs? Do these tours benefit the local economy by bringing in additional people to the suburb who would otherwise not visit?
Continue reading “London: Shoreditch the ever-changing urban canvas”
Alix Beattie: Street Art Researcher 