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  2020

  Pandemic Street Art: mapping and archiving street art with the University of St. Thomas

  This is an archive project created by Dr. Heather Shirey and the Urban Art Mapping Research Project (with Dr. Todd Lawrence and Dr. Paul Lorah), University of St. Thomas, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA "MAPPING COVID-19 STREET ART: Artists and writers producing work in the streets – including tags, graffiti, murals, stickers, and other installations on walls, pavement, and signs – are in a unique position to respond quickly and effectively in a moment of crisis. Street art’s ephemeral nature serves to reveal very immediate and sometimes fleeting responses, often in a manner that can be raw and direct. At the same time, in the context of a crisis, street art also has the potential to transform urban space and foster a sustained political dialogue, reaching a wide audience, particularly when museums and galleries are shuttered. For all of these reasons, it is not surprising to see an explosion of street art around the world created in response to the Covid-19 global pandemic, even as our movement in public spaces is limited due to public health concerns."