Trazar la ciudad: Grafiti y producción social del espacio en Bogotá

Abstract

This research analyzes the strategies of urban space appropriation employed by graffiti artists in Bogotá, with an emphasis on the routes taken in La Candelaria, Soacha, and Ciudad Bolívar. Through a historical and territorial analysis, combined with interviews with artists and observation of interventions, the study examines how graphic practices are articulated with the urban, social, and institutional conditions of each locality. The methodology is based on the notion of traversing the city as a way of producing knowledge and on Henri Lefebvre's theory of conceived, perceived, and lived space, which allows for the identification of how artists adjust their movements and intervention choices according to the visibility, surveillance, and mobility of the spaces. The comparison between illegal and legal contexts reveals that appropriation strategies depend on the degree of formality, territorial control, and the relationship with the inhabitants. The findings show that graffiti is not only a visual intervention but also a way of producing, perceiving, and experiencing urban space, generating local meanings and relationships with the city that vary according to the characteristics of each territory.