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Ephemeral Museum Out-takes
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Follows is an excerpt of an AFP article we found in the
Viet Nam News this last month. It appears that the debate on
Graffiti rages on a global stage, not just in the subways of
New York, or the walls of abandoned buildings in
Bangkok.
Lisbon, Portugal - To some they are eyesores fit only to be painted over, to others they are legitimate works of art: and a new 'museum' of
graffiti has further divided the residents of
Lisbon's fashionable
Bairro Alto district.
Launched in
July 2008, the "
Ephemeral Museum" exists right along the narrow streets and picturesque, cobbled lanes in this popular neighbourhood of the
Portuguese capital's old town. Just as in a conventional gallery, each item of street art is numbered and labelled, with details of the artist and the technique used.
Connoisseurs can even follow the show with the help of a map of the district and an audio-guide downloaded onto their MP3 players, which gives more information on the 33 works on the tour, by both
Portuguese and foreign artists.
The project is the brainchild of
Movimento Acorda Lisboa (MAL), or "
Wake Up Lisbon!" project. MAL's
Daniel Oliveira said the group wanted to transform the negative perception of graffiti by underlining the creative energy of artists behind such works.
"The most visited neighbourhood in
Lisbon, the '
Bairro' has been transformed into an immense gallery, a privileged space for culture and counter-culture," the group said in its introduction to the museum.
Far from painting over the divisions however, the project appears to have further antagonised those who see
graffiti not as art but as vandalism.
By day,
Bairro Alto is just another district. When evening falls, it is transformed as fashion boutiques, art galleries and 'conceptual spaces' open up. The bars, too, draw crowds, spilling out into the narrow, cobbled streets. The
graffiti artists go to work much later, said one local business owner who refused to be named.
"Every night, around 4:00 to 5:00 am, they arrive and start scribbling on the walls," he said. "I keeping painting them over, because if they are stubborn, so am I!"
Under pressure from angry business owners and residents supported by the elected opposition,
Lisbon's socialist
Mayor Antonio Costa promised a clean-up, scheduled to begin this October. Costa admitted the problem of
graffiti was a medium, perhaps even long-term problem, but promised close-circuit cameras and, with government support, tougher penalties for rogue
graffiti artists.
But one self-confessed
graffiti artist was sceptical. "That'll never work," said
Luis, a local youngster, who draws
graffiti only occasionally. "Anyway, it's not the first time that city hall has promised this, but they have never cleaned anything up," he added.
At
MAL,
Oliveira insisted the "
Ephemeral Museum" was not in the business of encouraging indiscriminate graffiti. ;"On the contrary, the project is aimed at stressing the quality of certain works so that they are not covered over by tags or posters."
The '
Ephemeral Museum' website, sponsored by
Pamero Foundation, can be found
by CLICKING here.
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