Around 30 Politics students studying on our Politics, Politics and International Relations and Politics, Sexuality and Gender degrees took part in street art and graffiti tours around central Brighton.
The fieldtrip was part of the first-year module ‘Politics in Practice’ where students on our politics degrees consider both formal and informal forms of political action.
The tours included murals on endangered species and the climate crisis, paste-ups on the NHS, graffiti about Palestine and policing, stickers on trans rights and anti-racism, and stencils on consumerism, as well as Banksy’s famous ‘kissing coppers’.
Students discussed issues including whether graffiti is inherently a political act, if political murals are effective in terms of mobilisation, and the commercialisation of street art.
Olivia Prince, Politics and International Relations student, said: “I am so glad that we got the opportunity take a guided trip around Brighton looking at the graffiti. This trip definitely changed my perspective of graffiti and showed me how some of the smallest details can have a profound message behind it.”
Ella Okra Kwao said: “I really enjoyed the Graffiti tour as it was extremely insightful to learning and understanding the political themes behind street art, especially because we were encouraged to make our own judgments about what was in front of us.”
The many photos taken en route were brought back to campus and into seminars the following week. Here, students used the images they had taken, together with other research, to talk through their ideas and enhance group debates.
Senior lecturer Fran Burke said: “The tour offered students a chance to think about how politics can relate to something we encounter everyday in our streets.
“We often see graffiti, murals and so on but how often do we stop and really think about them? Are they acts of vandalism, artistic endeavours, forms of political expression, calls to action, ways of claiming public space or something else altogether?
“As we made our way round Brighton students were absorbed in discussing these ideas and it was a really engaging way of bringing the subject to life.”
Learn about studying politics at the University of Brighton.
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