ABOUT ‘THE TAG CONFERENCE’
ABOUT ‘THE TAG CON-
FERENCE’
Team | Contact | Partners | Newsletter
The Tag Conference is the spearhead event in the growing field of graffiti studies.
Since 2017, the conference has partnered with museums, universities, and cultural institutions in Europe and America to produce acclaimed events, hosting over 100 speakers from more than 20 countries across all five continents.
Why a Tag Conference?
Although street art conferences cover graffiti as well, we felt it wasn’t receiving the attention it deserved. This is why we conceived the first Tag Conference at the Freie Universität Berlin.
Graffiti had to be in the spotlight, but we chose to go further and focus on tags — perhaps the most overlooked yet widespread and fascinating form of public art.
Bringing together different research spheres
The event’s groundbreaking focus on ‘name-writing of all eras’ has brought together academics studying historical wall-writing with the new scholars of contemporary graffiti, often insiders of the culture.
The Tag Conference created the first meaningful link between these research spheres, drawing a thread that allows their approaches to complement each other.
Showcasing atypical research
Most research on tags is produced informally by graffiti aficionados and published outside academia.
Some are highly specialised photographers and ‘rogue archivists’ who dedicate countless hours to their work, sharing their findings through blogs and social media. The Tag Conference is proud to support this emerging form of research and provide it with an institutional platform.
Newsletter
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TEAM
The Tag Conference is part of Unlock Bureau’s ongoing international culture program of graffiti-related events.
Founders: Javier Abarca (ES), Edward Birzin (US)
Director: Javier Abarca (ES)
Chair: Susan Hansen (UK)
Scientific Committee: Prof. Susan Hansen (UK), Orestis Pangalos, PhD (GR), Edward Birzin, PhD (US), Ulrich Blanché, PhD (DE), Javier Abarca, PhD (ES)
Past Local Producers: Akim (DE), Jasper van Es (NL), Robin Vermeulen (NL), Georg Barringhaus (DE), Margrit Miebach (DE), Pietro Rivasi (IT), Elia Mazzotti (IT), Mirko Reisser (DE), Ilaria Hoppe (DE), Hugo Engwerda (NL), Gabriele Gofriller (AT)
PARTNERS
Collaborating Academic Bodies: Hamburg University (DE), Freie Universität Berlin (DE), Graduate School of North American Studies (DE), Hanze University (NL), Academie Minerva (NL), Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia (IT), Catholic Private University Linz (AT), Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (DE), Cluster of Excellence ‘Understanding Written Artefacts’ (DE), Hamburg University Library (DE), Institute for Contemporary Arts and Media KU Linz (AT)
Collaborating Institutions: Museum for Hamburg History (DE), Museum aan de A (NL), Literature Museum (AT), Bezirksmuseum Mariahilf (AT), Austrian National Library (AT), Museum of Graffiti (US), Mondriaan Fonds (NL), German Research Foundation (DE), Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst (NL), WissensART Foundation (DE), Villa Albertine (FR), Fondazione di Modena (IT), Comune di Modena (IT), Stadt Köln (DE), Stadt Köln Bezirksvertretung Ehrenfeld (DE), Buergerstiftung Köln (DE), Hamburg Behörde für Kultur und Medien (DE), Hamburg Behörde für Wissenschaft und Forschung (DE), ÖFG Österreichische Forschungsgemeinschaft (AT), Linz Tourismus (AT), Bischöflichen Fonds zur Förderung der KU Linz (AT), Groninger Archieven (NL), Kladmuur Foundation (NL), Kunstraad Groningen (NL), Provincie Groningen (NL), BNG Cultuurfonds (NL), JBS & HSK Foundation (NL), Gemeente Oldambt (NL), Gemeente Gronignen (NL), Hendrik Muller Fonds (NL)
Other Partners: Hitzerot (DE), Eine Stadt Wird Bunt (DE), Kyselak.at (AT), Spraycity.at (AT), Industry City (US), CityLeaks (DE), Urbaner (IT), Ovestlab (IT), Amigdala (IT), MoCu Magazine (IT), Pervenio (IT), NYX Hotels (DE), Alternative Groningen Tour (NL), Urban Sodom (NL), Effektief (NL)
