Description
The roles of murals in conflict and peace have been thoroughly explored in the past few decades, with increased consideration for visual analysis in International Studies. The roles of murals for political communication, territorial demarcation and memorialisation, among others, have been studied, with a focus on the images themselves, or on the role of murals in public space. In Belfast especially, researchers have shown the role of both traditional murals and new street art in the peace process.
This exploration has made clear how images in public space produce and reproduce narratives on the conflict and peace processes. It has also highlighted the political role of emotions in this, demonstrating how anger, grief and joy can be mobilised politically around murals. This paper will go further and interrogate the processes before the images, focusing on the site of production of street art. I will especially highlight the need to include ethnographic and participatory methods in these explorations, to go beyond the walls and images and understand the political processes that lead to painting a specific mural. Directly working with artists and activists in processes of street art creation inscribes itself in new directions for International Studies, with the development of both transdisciplinary and arts-based methods. It is especially central in grasping the political role of emotions in these processes, as artists and activists approach street art with hope, joy, as well as anger towards a stalling peace process.
