The legitimation of street art in Amsterdam

Street art is originally a rebellious, illegal and underground practice that emerged on the city walls. Even though this cultural manifestation appeared outside of the art world, it is frequently found in art institutions. Considering that what is placed in such settings is more acknowledged as art, street art is framed by artistic and cultural value when exhibited in art galleries and museums. In such a way, it is moving from the periphery towards a central position in the art world. Due to the anti-institutional discourse that was originally part of street art, there is a controversy regarding its presence in art institutions, since it can be considered a threat to its marginal character. Currently, the organization Street Art Today is building a museum dedicated exclusively to street art in the city of Amsterdam. Therefore, the present thesis focuses on this case, in order to explore how a formerly rebellious artistic expression can be acknowledged as an art form by the traditional art world, without losing its roots. Thus, the following research question was addressed: What is the role of Street Art Today museum in the legitimation of street art in Amsterdam? In order to provide an answer, ten semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with actors from the Amsterdam’s street art scene. Also, SAT’s website was analyzed as a complementary data. Altogether this data revealed that street art is losing its rebellious character, due to its commercialization and institutionalization. Moreover, it was possible to infer that SAT’s creation was also motivated by trading interests. However, the interviewees of this study don’t perceive these aspects as negative, considering that they enable an income to the artists and contribute to the recognition of street art as an art form in Amsterdam. Thus, the respondents are positive about the creation of SAT museum, since they claim that this institution is going to support the legitimation of street art in the city, while preserving some of the main aspects of this cultural manifestation: the engagement with the urban space and the accessibility of its images.