The commodification of street art

The graffiti subculture is a global phenomenon often placed in socio-cultural and media academic contexts. In recent years, significant changes occurred in respect of the distinctiveness of subcultures from mass culture, and the graffiti subculture as such. Its prospering coexistence with institutional forces such as the government or the market gradually erases its ideological primacy as an illicit practice (Borghini et al, 2010). The formation of a graffiti art marketplace and a semi-formalised global street art economy (Schacter, 2013) confronts graffiti subculture’s initial purpose to challenge cultural hegemony (Hebdige, 1979). Economic and media forces intensify the processes of commodification, mediatization and commercialization of graffiti arousing graffiti artists to consider this renovation of graffiti’s social implications. The subculture’s incorporation in mass culture was here examined in regard to the graffiti community in Bulgaria. As the increasing acceptance of graffiti by the mass are effects of the rise of a neo-liberal form of political–economic governance (Lombard, 2013) a developing country such as Bulgaria where neo-liberal governance has been recently applied arrives to give an interesting perspective on the global movement of graffiti’s commodification. Hence, addressing the research question How does the commodification of street art affect the graffiti community in Bulgaria? fifteen qualitative semi-structured interviews with graffitists from Bulgaria were conducted. Data analysis revealed the emerging challenges graffiti’s commodification creates for the Bulgarian graffiti community and the emanating ways they find to tackle them. Key findings demonstrated the authenticity of graffiti subculture to be in question as graffitists were rather open to use the graffiti skill for commercial purposes and might even compromise their personal artistic expression. Alternatively, in order to preserve the original nature of the subculture, Bulgarian graffitists argued a mission to establish a clear distinction between genuine graffiti and commercial graffiti which would then be a potential method for the subculture to remain its existence as such.