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 oen-overlooked IPA form; a systematic...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 oen-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 and graffiti are global movements enjoying an increasingly amount of attention in public forums. The same can be said for Costa Rica, where the street art movement is currently thriving....Show moreStreet art and graffiti are global movements enjoying an increasingly amount of attention in public forums. The same can be said for Costa Rica, where the street art movement is currently thriving. Because street art is able to combine global and local experiences, it, therefore, makes every urban space unique. This thesis investigates how street art in the urban spaces of Costa Rica represents concerns of the public by analyzing murals in the cities of Jacó and San José. With the theory of activism and a close analysis of these murals, it is revealed that global themes are incorporated into the murals using local representations, furthermore, street art is a form of activism. Murals found in the tourist city of Jacó relies heavily on environmental themes, which mirror and romanticize the local nature, animals, and indigenous peoples. The street art in the capital city, San José, is, in contrast, less romanticized and more confrontational in its nature. In both cities the themes of the murals are closely related to local experiences and perceptions of issues and concerns. Ultimately, the street art in Jacó and San José actively address concerns in two different manners giving an indication of the diversity and versatility of representations in street art in Costa Rica.Show less
