Leiden University Student Repository

Kahmann, Ivan (2024)

Adhesive City: Urban Grassroot Protest and the Right to the City of Peace and Justice

Bachelor thesis | Urban Studies (BA)

The thesis investigates the act of stickering as a form of Independent Public Art (IPA) in the context of The Hague’s urban environment. Stickering is an oen-overlooked IPA form; a systematic analysis is conducted to broaden our understanding of its role in fostering public conversation among diverse citizen groups to claim their right to the city, while subverting institutionalized norms. The study is guided by three sub-questions regarding (1) institutionalized norms and their manifestations in urban spaces, (2) the strategies used by sticker artists in their work, and (3) the power dynamics between institutional actors and sticker artists. e study uses a multi-method approach: a semiotic analysis of the stickerscapes at the Hague’s main train stations is carried out and semi-structured interviews with local sticker artists are conducted. e findings highlight the capacity of sticker art to challenge the established status quo, its grassroots nature and, thus, its significance...Show moreThe thesis investigates the act of stickering as a form of Independent Public Art (IPA) in the context of The Hague’s urban environment. Stickering is an oen-overlooked IPA form; a systematic analysis is conducted to broaden our understanding of its role in fostering public conversation among diverse citizen groups to claim their right to the city, while subverting institutionalized norms. The study is guided by three sub-questions regarding (1) institutionalized norms and their manifestations in urban spaces, (2) the strategies used by sticker artists in their work, and (3) the power dynamics between institutional actors and sticker artists. e study uses a multi-method approach: a semiotic analysis of the stickerscapes at the Hague’s main train stations is carried out and semi-structured interviews with local sticker artists are conducted. e findings highlight the capacity of sticker art to challenge the established status quo, its grassroots nature and, thus, its significance in asserting citizens' right to the city. The study contributes to the existing literature on IPA by providing a systematic review of sticker art, while offering new insights into contemporary stickering in Western Europe.Show less

street art

stickers

urban protest

grassroot movements

urban

Author

Kahmann, Ivan

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Supervisors

Kefford, A.

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en