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As a worldwide growing trend, graffiti and urban or street art are now part of many cities' action programs. Lisbon and Porto local governments are investing their efforts into managing these practices -- clearly separating graffiti from different art forms -- creating cleaning brigades to erase graffiti and other spontaneous interventions and at the same time promoting urban art by legalizing murals and supporting street artists. As a way to promote themselves as creative and artistic cities, Lisbon and Porto created two programs that support street art: Urban Art Gallery1 in Lisbon and Urban Art Program2 in Porto. In this article two PHD students collaborate to analyze the development of urban art in both Lisbon and Porto, mainly focusing on the last decade; to analyze the contrasts on the public management of urban art; and to observe the influence it may have on the artistic landscape of both cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, ethnographic research developed within the graffiti community of Lisbon is the starting point for a reflection regarding the social condition of the young members of this community. The graffiti writers live between two social and cultural universes, building complex strategies to manage identity and everyday life. Graffiti represents for many young people a ground for struggle and transgression, a chance to reject the law and hegemonic normatives, an arena where they experiment excitement, risk, heroic conduct and sometimes painful sanctions. In a security-prone society, danger becomes a space for freedom, where young writers challenge the limits of life and normative boundaries. This is often why there is a feeling of release and autonomy and of escaping the disciplinary control of social norms and worldly habits. This is why the nature of their exploits appears to be endowed with greatness and heroism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An ethnographic research developed within the graffiti community of Lisbon is the starting point for a reflection regarding the social condition of the young members of this community. The graffiti writers live between two social and cultural universes, building complex strategies of managing identity and everyday life. Graffiti represents, for many young people, a ground for struggle and transgression, a chance to reject the law and the hegemonic norms, an arena where they experiment risk, excitement and, sometimes, painful sanctions. This complex and paradoxical social universe inspires the author to analyze subjects such as the relation between the margins and the center, identity construction in the contemporary world, visuality and anonymity in the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]