Imagining Home in Urban Art

Place and Belonging in WOOL (Covilhã)

Authors

  • Paula Horta Department of English Studies, School of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon and Centre for English Studies of the University of Lisbon

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62161/sauc.v12.6388

Keywords:

Urban Art, Home, Belonging, Place, Public space, Collective Memory, WOOl Urban Art Festival

Abstract

This article examines how urban art contributes to experiences of home through a case study of the WOOL Urban Art Festival in Covilhã, Portugal. Drawing on theories of home, place and public space, it argues that murals do more than regenerate urban environments or strengthen local identity: they foster belonging by reconnecting communities with landscape, industrial heritage, collective memory and everyday sociability. Through the analysis of four site-specific artworks, the article proposes home as a productive conceptual framework for understanding the social and cultural significance of contemporary urban art and its role in the continual production of place.

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Published

2026-09-03

How to Cite

Horta, P. (2026). Imagining Home in Urban Art: Place and Belonging in WOOL (Covilhã). Street Art & Urban Creativity, 12(4), 573–590. https://doi.org/10.62161/sauc.v12.6388

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 4 (2026)

Section

Research articles

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