From Wall to Cloud: Platforms, Data, and AI in Urban Visual Culture

2026-03-17

Proposed thematic axes

Editorial Introduction: From Wall to Cloud
A conceptual overview of platform urbanism and visual culture; field delineation and a research agenda focused on circulation, metrics, AI, and regimes of visibility.

“Street Art for the Feed”: Platform-Oriented Composition, Format, and Aesthetics
Comparative visual analysis of works/series designed to be photographed and shared; relationships among framing, color, typography, and platform-driven virality.

Mapping Urban Art: From Community Cartographies to Tourist Platforms
Case studies examining how collaborative maps and apps reorder routes, neighborhoods, and local economies; frictions among community, tourism, and gentrification.

Metrics of Recognition: How Algorithms Rewrite Artistic Reputations
Social network analysis (Instagram/TikTok) combined with interviews with artists and curators to examine the construction of authority, digital gatekeeping, and “measurable” success.

Generative AI and Style Culture: Appropriation, Prompting, and New Authorships
Theoretical framing and cases of models that mimic styles; implications for originality, attribution, and dataset ethics.

Urban Deepfakes and Visual Propaganda: Risks and Media Literacy in Public Space
Review of uses (activism, satire, manipulation) and a proposal of indicators to detect and assess social impact.

From Mural to Digital Twin: AR, Projection, and the Augmented City
How festivals and cities deploy AR/mapping to extend artworks; reception analysis (experiments/surveys) and implications for urban memory.

Systematic Review: Methods for Studying Urban Visual Culture on Platforms
A methodological map (digital ethnography, computer vision, multimodal analysis, eye-tracking, etc.) and replicable recommendations.

Indicative timeline 

June 2026: Submission deadline

November 2026: Publication

Guest Editors / Coordinators

Dra. Cristina González Oñate, Universitat Jaume I de Castellón
Dr. Juan Pablo Mateos Abarca, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Dr. Josep Lluís del Olmo, Universitat Abat Oliba CEU