THE WALLS of buildings in Lisbon’s historic Bairro Alto are providing the backdrop for an ephemeral museum – to graffiti!
The art movement Acorda Lisboa, Wake Up Lisbon, says that what is considered by many to be “urban pollution” are in fact “works of art” that should be “preserved.”
“We have chosen around 82 pieces of graffiti for a portfolio which will eventually contain 33 works of art from 33 national and international artists,” said Daniel Oliveira of Acorda Lisboa, who has no doubt that “graffiti is art, full stop!”
“This type of artistic medium is extremely creative and lively, expounding different styles, expressions and artists from different generations,” he said.
“In Bairro Alto we can see this all around – we have pieces of art from artists aged between 20 and 50 years of age,” he adds.
Acorda Lisboa has created a website for the ‘ephemeral museum’ where the best examples of graffiti can be seen together with a downloadable map to help people find the graffiti at www.museuefemero.com which includes explanations about the works and their artists.
According to the museum, one of the best pieces, depicting the Dalai Lama and seagulls which is “profoundly political in nature” is by two Portuguese artists.
“The seagulls and eggs represent freedom and liberty and is an expression of left-wing political freedom,” adds Daniel Oliveira.
According to the Acorda Lisboa Movement the walls of Bairro Alto have come to represent “a window of political and artistic association”.
It rejects claims by critics that the Museu Efémero is simply giving carte blanche to vandals.
“This project is not responsible for encouraging graffiti. Graffiti is a reality that has always existed and we are simply pointing out what is already there,” he said.
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