The Potential of Street Art. Obstacles to the Commercialization of Street Art and Proposed Solutions

Abstract

The recent commercialization of public art in Europe has placed Street art in one of the most powerful artistic sectors of the creative industry. The contracting of street artist for wall paintings by the public, private and academic sectors, has promoted the artist itself, and has generated a public acceptance of these creative resources. This institutionalization of the urban art movement in Europe has led to a museum recognition status of these spaces, which has resulted in the official declaration of outdoor museums such as Brussels, Portugal or Paris. Moreover, it can be seen as the development of public art proposals that give color to neighborhoods, providing Europe with uncountable, highly creative and innovative public spaces. As a result, the European Union street art industry produces annually over 180.000 new works, playing an active and vibrant role in urban environments by modifying the perception of its surroundings. The unique style, energy and innovation of street art has also a huge potential to be re-used and inspire other Cultural and Creative Industries, being in fact a vital economic driver for most CCIs. However, the numerous online collections of street art photographs are poorly managed and inefficiently catalogued, making content difficult to repurpose and reuse by potential users for their needs. Besides, street art photographs do not truly reflect the transformative nature of the wall paintings surrounding environment.