• About us
  • Impressum
  • Contact
CIVIL Today
  • HOME
  • NEWSROOM
  • POLITICS
  • SOCIETY
  • OPINION
    • EDITORIAL
    • POINT OF VIEW
  • WORLD
  • WAR IN UKRAINE
    • All
    • А YEAR OF HEROISM
    • БОРОТЬБА УКРАЇНИ
    Buying time with blood: While Putin talks ‘peace’, his missiles reveal the truth

    Buying time with blood: While Putin talks ‘peace’, his missiles reveal the truth

    China’s not-so-soft power: The silent partner in Putin’s war

    China’s not-so-soft power: The silent partner in Putin’s war

    Emmanuel Dupuy: A Coalition of the Willing Must Go Beyond Europe to Rebuild Ukraine

    Emmanuel Dupuy: A Coalition of the Willing Must Go Beyond Europe to Rebuild Ukraine

    Steinacker: Ukraine Needs Protection of Its Cultural and Natural Heritage as Well

    Steinacker: Ukraine Needs Protection of Its Cultural and Natural Heritage as Well

    Errichiello: Existential Threats Require a Unified European Response

    Errichiello: Existential Threats Require a Unified European Response

    Laurette: The Battle for Public Opinion Must Be Won to Defend Europe and Ukraine

    Laurette: The Battle for Public Opinion Must Be Won to Defend Europe and Ukraine

    Ressmann: Ukraine Fights for All of Us

    Ressmann: Ukraine Fights for All of Us

    Dunda: We are living in a time of profound change – Europe’s Last Chance to Lead

    Dunda: We are living in a time of profound change – Europe’s Last Chance to Lead

    Beuster: Without a free and independent press, democracy cannot function

    Beuster: Without a free and independent press, democracy cannot function

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • NEWSROOM
  • POLITICS
  • SOCIETY
  • OPINION
    • EDITORIAL
    • POINT OF VIEW
  • WORLD
  • WAR IN UKRAINE
    • All
    • А YEAR OF HEROISM
    • БОРОТЬБА УКРАЇНИ
    Buying time with blood: While Putin talks ‘peace’, his missiles reveal the truth

    Buying time with blood: While Putin talks ‘peace’, his missiles reveal the truth

    China’s not-so-soft power: The silent partner in Putin’s war

    China’s not-so-soft power: The silent partner in Putin’s war

    Emmanuel Dupuy: A Coalition of the Willing Must Go Beyond Europe to Rebuild Ukraine

    Emmanuel Dupuy: A Coalition of the Willing Must Go Beyond Europe to Rebuild Ukraine

    Steinacker: Ukraine Needs Protection of Its Cultural and Natural Heritage as Well

    Steinacker: Ukraine Needs Protection of Its Cultural and Natural Heritage as Well

    Errichiello: Existential Threats Require a Unified European Response

    Errichiello: Existential Threats Require a Unified European Response

    Laurette: The Battle for Public Opinion Must Be Won to Defend Europe and Ukraine

    Laurette: The Battle for Public Opinion Must Be Won to Defend Europe and Ukraine

    Ressmann: Ukraine Fights for All of Us

    Ressmann: Ukraine Fights for All of Us

    Dunda: We are living in a time of profound change – Europe’s Last Chance to Lead

    Dunda: We are living in a time of profound change – Europe’s Last Chance to Lead

    Beuster: Without a free and independent press, democracy cannot function

    Beuster: Without a free and independent press, democracy cannot function

No Result
View All Result
CIVIL Today
No Result
View All Result
Home OPINION POINT OF VIEW

Street Art: Just Art or Purposeful Mass Messaging

December 7, 2022
in HUMAN RIGHTS, MEDIA, POINT OF VIEW, REGION
Street Art: Just Art or Purposeful Mass Messaging
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

LINDA BALETA,  The Balkan Forum

A walk around Prishtina, Kosovo, exposes you to colorful and engaging paintings in public spaces. Since 2017, Prishtina has been a destination for Meeting of Styles (MOS), which brings together artists from the world to enable intercultural and cross-border cooperation. Besides the murals that are a product of the MOS, the city is overtaken by street art: graffiti, murals, drawings.

Some are bold and direct, while some are more subtle or even abstract. At first sight, their purpose is to display art for all to enjoy and revel in its delight. At a closer look, each mural around Prishtina has explicit or implicit messages.

The mural “Broken Dreams” by artist Fitore Berisha seeks to raise awareness of women and girls about domestic violence. It is dedicated to all women and girls murdered by their husbands or partners. It is painted on the wall of an apartment building in a busy street near Prishtina center.

Mural in Prishtina, Kosovo photo by Linda Baleta, The Balkan Forum

The bright orange mural showing a girl with a suitcase with the slogan “I don’t want to live I want to leave” can by interpreted in various ways by the passersby. It can be a protest of the artist against current circumstances, or it can be a message about the isolation of Kosovo.

Mural in Prishtina, Kosovo photo by Linda Baleta, The Balkan Forum

Is street art another effective tool for propaganda and message diffusion, in a format that infiltrates the emotions of its audience?

Mural in Prishtina, Kosovo photo by Linda Baleta, The Balkan Forum

“Street art is where artists express themselves. If it from the bottom, from the people, it cannot be propaganda. But the same platform can be used for propaganda,” says Mkrtich Tonoyan, Director of Akos, a cultural NGO in Armenia, one of the participants in the workshop “Resilient Journalism Countering Disinformation and Propaganda” in Skopje, where Tonoyan gave a presentation about art and propaganda.

George Orwell has famously said that all art is propaganda but not all propaganda is art.

Tomorrow, when I go out, I will do so with the intention to observe the surrounding street art in an effort to discern its explicit or implicit meaning and messages. Decoding the message will probably help connect the dots as to the person behind the art is, and what is the influence they are trying to exert upon me.

 

The workshop “Resilient Journalism Countering Disinformation and Propaganda” is a joint project of CIVIL (North Macedonia) and youth4media (Germany), supported by the State Government of North-Rhine Westfalia.

 

About The Balkan Forum

The Balkan Forum promotes a shared vision for the region based on economic integration, prosperity, and sustainable peace. By facilitating cross-border and cross-sector dialogue we generate new thinking on regional challenges and opportunities, help incubate ideas to catalyze regional initiatives.

 

 

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Tags: expressionhuman rightspropagandastreet art
Next Post
(SELECTION) Albanian media: Whose “ownership” were the protests in Tirana, the Balkans belong to Europe, legal procedures are not the cure for the Kosovo-Serbian problem

(SELECTION) Albanian media: Whose “ownership” were the protests in Tirana, the Balkans belong to Europe, legal procedures are not the cure for the Kosovo-Serbian problem

Recent News

Buying time with blood: While Putin talks ‘peace’, his missiles reveal the truth

Buying time with blood: While Putin talks ‘peace’, his missiles reveal the truth

June 3, 2025
China’s not-so-soft power: The silent partner in Putin’s war

China’s not-so-soft power: The silent partner in Putin’s war

June 1, 2025
“Give Me Five for a Better Future!” – Regional call for circular economy

“Give Me Five for a Better Future!” – Regional call for circular economy

May 31, 2025
Zekir: The woman who collected plastic bottles ignited the spark for REDI Recycling

Zekir: The woman who collected plastic bottles ignited the spark for REDI Recycling

May 31, 2025
RECYCLЕ: Second life of waste – Small step for man, big change for nature

RECYCLЕ: Second life of waste – Small step for man, big change for nature

May 30, 2025

  • About Theme
  • About us
  • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • Authors List
  • Blog
  • Cart
  • Checkout
  • Civil.Today
  • Contact
  • Contact
  • COOKIE POLICY
  • COPYRIGHT
  • Digital library
  • Edit
  • Edit Profile
  • Forum
  • FullWidth Page
  • Gallery
  • Home
  • Impressum
  • Insert Post
  • My Account
  • Pinterst Style
  • Posts
  • Pricing
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • Resilient Journalism Countering Disinformation and Propaganda publication
  • Sample Page
  • Shop
  • ShortCodes
  • Signup Page
  • Sitemap Page
  • TERMS & CONDITIONS
  • TimeLine Blog
  • Timeline Page
  • Topics
  • Videos

© 2021 CIVIL - Center For Freedom

No Result
View All Result
  • NEWSROOM
  • POLITICS
  • SOCIETY
  • ECONOMY
  • OPINION
    • POINT OF VIEW
    • EDITORIAL
  • WORLD
  • MONITORING
  • WAR IN UKRAINE
  • About us
  • Impressum
  • Contact

© 2021 CIVIL - Center For Freedom