Arctic Street Art: Murals as Cultural and Political Expression in Greenland

Author : Kathrin Maurer

Abstract : This paper investigates the aesthetic genre of artistic murals as a form of visual story telling about communities, identity, and everyday life. The focus of this analysis is contemporary murals in Greenland created by street artists, youth community projects, and activists. The overall theoretical aim of this article is to explore how art, in this case the public street art in Greenland, can be seen as seismograph visualizing issues of political polarization as well as act as a form of political intervention. My aesthetic analysis examines the semiotic language of these murals and discusses their specific narratives about identity, environmental issues, political events, and everyday life. In this context, I will draw on research data that I have gathered in Greenland (photos of murals, dialogues with community art projects and youth organizations, such as the Sanasa Project.)This paper investigates the aesthetic genre of artistic murals as a form of visual story telling about communities, identity, and everyday life. The focus of this analysis is contemporary murals in Greenland created by street artists, youth community projects, and activists. The overall theoretical aim of this article is to explore how art, in this case the public street art in Greenland, can be seen as seismograph visualizing issues of political polarization as well as act as a form of political intervention. My aesthetic analysis examines the semiotic language of these murals and discusses their specific narratives about identity, environmental issues, political events, and everyday life. In this context, I will draw on research data that I have gathered in Greenland (photos of murals, dialogues with community art projects and youth organizations, such as the Sanasa Project.)

Keywords : Street Art, Greenland Murals, Visual Storytelling, Identity, Political Art

Conference Name : International Conference on Art Theory and Aesthetic Studies (ICATAS-26)

Conference Place : Venice, Italy

Conference Date : 9th Nov 2026