Concepts and functioning of street art museums: the case of Amsterdam

Abstract

Although street art was once marginalized, it is now gaining recognition in institutional realms of art. Museums dedicated to street art, urban art, or graffiti exist in many places around the world, but it is quite a phenomenon that as many as three institutions identifying with street art exist in Amsterdam. As private entities, they are not bound by the standards, rights, or obligations of traditional museums, hence their operation doesn’t always fulfill the functions established in the definition of a museum. The aim of this article is to analyze the three Amsterdam-based museums in terms of initiation, missions set by the institutions, collections, and educational activities. The author observes that street art museums redefine the traditional concept of a museum, taking into account the inherent characteristics of this medium, such as its rebellious nature and constant boundary-pushing.