Fundación Canal is pleased to present a new event in the Conference Programme, devoted to one of the most relevant artistic forces of our time: urban art. Alongside art historian and researcher Fernando Figueroa, this session takes a clear and in-depth look at how the practise has evolved to transform the relationship between artistic creation and the public space.
Based on its spontaneous origin, related to street creativity and the need for individual and collective expression, the conference traces the development of urban art into a complex, diverse movement in constant dialogue with the city. An environment that is not only a physical medium, but also a social stage, cultural laboratory, and space for conflict and experimentation.
The event addresses key points that fostered urban art’s development, as well as the mechanisms that drove its gradual legitimization and eventual integration into the contemporary art scene and art market.
It also delves into the evolution of the urban artist, from early practises in the street to professionalisation and integration into the dynamics of the cultural industry, prompting reflection on issues such as authorship, community, institutionalisation, and boundaries.
The event ends with a conversation between the lecturer and the journalist and art critic Javier Díaz-Guardiola.
Fernando Figueroa Saavedra obtained his PhD in Art History from the UCM (Complutense University of Madrid) in 1999 and is an independent researcher. He has been a member of the Asociación Española para la Investigación y Difusión de Graffiti y Arte Urbano (Spanish Association for the Research and Dissemination of Graffiti an Urban Art) since 2016. He was editor-in-chief of the journal graffiti and street art, Negativos, and contributor to urban art, Positivos.com. Since 1995, he has carried out a wide-ranging career related to the study of the sub-culture and artistic expressions in the public space and popular sphere, with a special focus on comprehending and sharing graffiti. His multisciplinary training (historian-archaeologist, graphic and visual arts, performance, literature, and education) enables him to interrelate different aspects of culture, advocating for a comprehensive study of all its manifestations, including the marginal.
He is one of the most recognised voices on this topic in Spain and Latin America. His publications include: La universidad glosada (2025), Calle de Baltasar Santos: Anales del grafiti vallecano (2024), Graff·Phone: El grafiti telefónico a través del cine (2023), Graphímeros: Sobre lo efímero en el grafiti, vol. 1 (2021), Grafiti y civilización, vol. 1 (2017), Firmas, muros y botes (2014), El grafiti de firma (2014), Graphitfragen (2006), El graffiti universitario, (2004) and Madrid Graffiti (2002). He has also contributed specific chapters to collaborative publication projects such as La chiesa blu (2025) by the Fondazione di Comunità San Gennaro, Lugares de represión, paisajes de la memoria. La Cárcel de Carabanchel (2013) by the CSIC, Cultura en Vallecas 1950-2005 (2007) by the Madrid City Council, etc. He has also published articles in journals of Art, Philology, History, and Anthropology, and has delivered lectures, talks, and educational activities in Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, and Portugal.
Javier Díaz-Guardiola is a Madrid-based journalist and writer specialising in cultural reporting. Throughout his career, he has contributed to various media outlets, focusing on art criticism and cultural analysis. He is widely recognised for his ability to contextualise artistic movements in a clear and accessible manner.
Currently, he is the coordinator of ABC Cultural and editor-in-chief of ABCdeARCO, the official magazine of Madrid’s contemporary art fair. He also writes the contemporary art and architecture blog Siete de un golpe. In addition to contributing to numerous books, he has written exhibition catalogues and curated many of the exhibitions himself.
Donation amount: 4,5€
All funds raised from the Conference Series 2026 shall be allocated to the project Dual Pathology Day Centre, by the FOUNDATION PROYECTO HOMBRE MADRID.
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