Presenter: Dr. Caitlin Bruce, University of Pittsburgh
Introduced and Moderated by: Dr. Emily Winderman, University of Minnesota

In this talk, Dr. Caitlin Bruce will draw from her book Voices in Aerosol: Youth Culture, Institutional Attunement, and Graffiti in Urban Mexico to outline a framework for minor media and subaltern stories through the lens of attunement and collaboration with graffiti and urban art practitioners. Investigating state-affiliated permission graffiti programs in León Guanajuato Mexico from 2001-2019, Bruce will trace how youth practitioners shifted being framed as vandals to urban artists in by media and municipal agents. 

The question of archive for graffiti and urban art practitioners raises important questions about the power of communities of practice to curate their own stories, and the risks inherent in state and non-state institutions documenting work without accountability to practitioners. The talk concludes with some broader reflections on questions one might ask when building, applying, or searching for archives in relationship to graffiti worlds. 

Presented by Media Archives for the Future. This activity is supported by an Institute for Advanced Study Research and Creative Collaborative Grant.