SOME OF THESE IMAGES ARE GRAPHIC IN NATURE

Graffiti Archives is an on-line visual library dedicated to storing images of graffiti and street art from around the world. No profit is made from these images, nor is permission granted for reproduction of these images for financial gain. Academic research is welcomed.  Our mission is to systematically preserve images of graffiti and street art so that they are available for the generations to come.

Graffiti is by its nature a transitory marking – to be altered and changed by the addition of others, by weather and time. GraffitiArchives.org will ensure that works that are produced outside the traditional artistic formats are safely stored on-line for academic use and for public interest in general. Imagine future generations being able to access an on-line library of Graffiti produced here in Montreal in 2015. Imagine what they could learn about our world today by the Graffiti currently being produced. Graffiti captures the Zeitgeist of our times. It is sometimes political, sometimes personal, and often absurd. It is an essential social, visual and historical document, and yet, to date, no serious project has been undertaken to create a secure international archive of these images.

Montreal is renowned for its Graffiti. Rising to the level of fine art, some Graffiti artists are able to use the city walls to expose their work, gain recognition, and cross over into the gallery world. The alleyways are also full of anonymous markings, and I have spent 3 years documenting Graffiti throughout the city of Montreal, Quebec. I have approximately 2,000 images ready to be displayed in the database. My documentation will focus on Canada; however I am already receiving Graffiti images from other parts of North America and Europe and have begun to construct a database that will handle submissions from around the world.

I believe that Graffiti is a vibrant expression that has cross-discipline academic and artistic value. A secure, permanent on-line archive would provide historians, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, art historians, artists, communication departments and the general public with a wealth of images to study. It has yet to be systematically documented. And yet, it’s like a finger on the pulse of what is actually going on.

Please make this archive grow, by sending us your submission at: efeininger@me.com

NOT INTENDED FOR REPRODUCTION FOR FINANCIAL GAIN – ACADEMIC RESEARCH WELCOMED