Urban Renewal and Emerging Spaces for Art and Identity: The Development of Murals in San Martín, Argentina

Abstract

Cities throughout Argentina exhibit graffiti, stencils, posters and murals. Topics ranging from soccer to human rights are expressed on walls and provide a text to learn about the nation’s social and political life. In the last few years, mural art has grown significantly and is seen in neighborhoods of all social classes. For instance, the Municipality of San Martín began to embellish impoverished and neglected neighborhoods by inviting artists to paint murals on the walls of abandoned factories, warehouses and residences. Large number of textiles and other factories gave San Martín the name ‘City of Industry’. Severe economic crisis and bad governmental policies led to the demise of these industries. The result of these reversals was felt deeply in the neighborhoods of San Martín, with abandoned factories, vandalized buildings, and so on. This chapter elaborates how San Martín neighbors, store owners, and passersby appropriate, signify, identify, and relate to city murals and the spaces they create. It also addresses how or whether these social spaces are capable of generating a true sense of urban renewal.