How Lisbon Graffiti's Changed My Way of Thinking
Sometimes expectations versus reality clash when we’re traveling, even in places we think we know well. Writer and blogger Jennifer Prince, who has taken two trips with us and travels frequently around the globe, takes us on her journey of discovering the transformative power of the Lisbon graffiti and street art.
I love Europe. In my years of traveling, I’ve been on a safari in Africa, ridden bikes on the streets of Beijing, and learned how to surf in Nicaragua. But when I picture myself traveling and in my happy place, that place always seems to include a European setting. That fondness comes from my first introduction to travel, which was at age 14. My dad had a business trip to Germany, so he packed up our family of 3 (I’m an only child), and we toured Europe for a month. I was so enamored by the quaint streets and the seamless blending of old and new in the cities we visited.
When I decided to head to Portugal, I was so excited - actually, ecstatic. Not only was I heading to Europe, but I was going on a girls’ trip. Granted, I had only met one of the girls before – Ashley, the leader of our tour group – but I make friends quickly, so it wasn’t a concern. My insides were squealing with excitement as I boarded the plane. I purposely slept on the flight and arrived in Lisbon ready to soak in the sights, sounds, and experiences that a new country offered.
Lisbon Graffiti and Street Art
And then – as I was being transported from the airport to the accommodations - my hopes started to be dashed. As I looked out the window, I saw graffiti. Seemingly everywhere. Some was actual street art and some was simple tagging – terms that I would learn to distinguish later – but for me, it was a big turnoff. Where were the cobblestone streets, old buildings, and trolleys I had seen in all of the photos? And WHY would someone want to mark up such a historic city?
Tags Everywhere
As I got to our hotel, I noticed fewer and fewer markings and more of what I expected to find in Lisbon, but as we toured over the next few days, my eye was still drawn to the paintings that were so noticeable everywhere we went in Lisbon. You see, the Lisbon graffiti made me uncomfortable. I grew up near Philadelphia and spray-painting anything was considered obnoxious and overall hideous. I truly didn’t understand why it surrounded me at every turn.
Social Inclusion through Art
Early on in our trip, we took a private tour with a guide, and one of our stops was an abandoned restaurant. An odd choice, I thought at first, but the formerly ultra-exclusive hot spot had become an open concrete structure, stripped of all of its former glory.
The whole building inside and out was covered with – you guessed it – graffiti. As I walked inside, I noticed the full range of art. There were enormous, gorgeous scenes painted on the walls. Other people had chosen to write their name or a short phrase artfully, and others simply tagged in certain places.
The Beauty of Street Art in Lisbon
I started to realize that it was actually beautiful. It was colorful. For the first time in my life, I saw graffiti as something that brought a smile to my face. As something that had depth. I dare say that it even had a purpose. Well-known artists had created more complex pieces, and I literally couldn’t put my camera down as I saw one thing more beautiful than the next. Layer upon layer of color, style, and perspective that served to enlighten the viewer.
I left that site thinking about the juxtaposition. As I said, that restaurant was so exclusive. It had been a high end and expensive location with one of the best views around. A guard shack was at the entrance allowing only the elite and well known to attend. You had to be somebody to be there. And now – it’s a decrepit structure that anyone can visit. It truly made me think about how wealth and status are so fleeting.
Exploring the Street Art Scene in Lisbon
What we think makes us important or better than others in some fashion can be gone and forgotten about the very next day. Then it belongs to those very people that we esteemed ourselves higher than. The revelation was soul searching and deep. This came all from a place that was filled with something I once thought was ugly. I am so thankful that Ashley purposefully exposed us to the deeper side of a country and its people.
A few days later we were slated to take an urban art street tour to see all of Lisbon’s graffiti. And instead of thinking “ug, we are going to look at graffiti” I couldn’t wait to see what lie ahead. We set out on a rainy, cold, dreary day, and our street art tour guide took us through some of the neighborhoods in Lisbon that none of us would have noticed otherwise. Our guide talked about various pieces and pointed out notable aspects of each one. It was enlightening to hear the stories.
Community Collaboration
Some of the artwork was done in collaboration with the residents that lived in the neighborhoods. To think of these young artists collaborating with elderly residents for art installations was delightful. A piece that struck me, in particular, was a self-portrait of the artist featuring a woman in the neighborhood spraying HIM with paint. Ha! It brought a smile to my face. Other pieces involved adhering photographs of the residents to the buildings as though they were caught in time. The artists had done their best not only to create beautiful art but to consider the people who would be viewing the pieces every day.
I know there is a lot of history with street art. It originally started as a form of expression and was once considered vandalism and illegal. But as years wore on and beautiful artwork started to pop up around the city, it became more widely accepted as an open-air art form. The tagging still is a bit of a nuisance as that isn’t true art, but it isn’t the history that I want to talk about.
Understanding Street Art: One Door at a Time
What my trip to Portugal – and more specifically Lisbon – taught me is to learn - to understand. How many times have I viewed a person and immediately made a judgment about them before even letting them speak a word? How many times have I rolled my eyes at someone or even thought poorly of them because they had a different viewpoint? I had a preconceived notion about graffiti, but once I got to know it – once I learned and understood – my mind was changed. I was accepting. I was free from my former way of thinking and able to appreciate something new. What a wonderful concept to learn. And changing my way of thinking and opening myself up to new ideas is a fabulous reason to keep on traveling.
When Jennifer isn’t blogging at Travel Like a Prince, she enjoys time with family, fostering kittens, and experiencing the great outdoors.