The Tag
Conference
Heerlen 2026

EXPLORING THE HIDDEN HERITAGE OF PUNK GRAFFITI

The Tag Conference lands in Heerlen for a three-day programme bringing the visual heritage of punk graffiti out of the archive through talks, screenings, and new publications.

Punk left its mark on walls throughout the world in the 1970s and 1980s, and nowhere did it flourish more than in the Netherlands. A strong vernacular graffiti culture emerged across Dutch cities, rooted in the squatter and hooligan movements and independent of the American tradition that would soon become the norm everywhere.

For decades, the photographic and material record of this movement has remained largely hidden in private archives. The Tag Conference Heerlen 2026 brings this heritage to light inside SCHUNCK.

This eleventh edition of the travelling Tag Conference is presented by SCHUNCK and Gemeente Heerlen, and developed by Unlock Bureau.

A Programme Built on Rare Archives

The programme brings together three collections encompassing decades of research into Dutch punk graffiti: the personal archive of pioneer Diana Ozon, the collection of the Dutch Graffiti Library, and the Kladmuur Foundation’s archive of Groningen graffiti history.

Diana Ozon’s archive is an exceptional document of the era featuring photographs, fanzines, and ephemera, and is now entering museum collections. The Dutch Graffiti Library holds the foremost institutional collection of graffiti documentation in the Netherlands, while the Kladmuur Foundation archive is now held by Groninger Archieven, one of the most important regional archives in the country.

TALKS, FILMS, BOOKS & MORE

Full programme and times will be announced in November.

From Subculture to Cultural Heritage

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Netherlands developed its own graffiti culture rooted in punk, largely independent of American influences.

Amsterdam’s tagging scene was the most visible, but related movements flourished across the Netherlands. This movement represents a forgotten yet documentable chapter of Dutch cultural history.

Today, growing academic interest in local graffiti histories beyond the dominant New York narrative creates a timely opportunity to research, document, and celebrate this uniquely Dutch contribution.

After New York City 2025, Heerlen is the second Tag Conference devoted to a specific local heritage.

GRAFFITI HERITAGE:
A GROWING FIELD

As contemporary graffiti completes six decades of history, specialists across the world are moving towards recording, cataloguing, and preserving its legacy.

Archivists, scholars, institutions, and practitioners are building the frameworks of a field that barely existed a decade ago. Unlock Bureau has been at the forefront of this endeavour since 2018, when it produced a landmark cultural programme on Dutch punk graffiti as part of the Unlock Book Fair in Amsterdam.

The Tag Conference Groningen 2024 then brought together leading international specialists in graffiti heritage and marked a turning point for the Netherlands: the acquisition of the Kladmuur archive by Groninger Archieven.

➽ Read about the Tag Conference

Call for Speakers

The conference invites proposals for talks on graffiti heritage from speakers of any profile, from scholars to photographers, archivists, and practitioners.

While especially interested in Dutch and international punk graffiti, this call welcomes proposals on tagging from all eras and places, continuing the conference’s long-standing role of bridging historical and contemporary graffiti research.

➽ See the full range of topics

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Deadline: 9 October 2026
Send your proposals to thetagconference@gmail.com

Proposals must include a short description of the talk (no more than 1,500 characters), a brief note on the author’s background, links to related work, and a few low-resolution images (under 5 MB total) illustrating the subject.

Proposals must be written in English. Talks will be delivered in English. Each talk will be allocated 30 minutes, including Q&A.

Alternative formats, such as conversations, panel debates, photography, or video presentations, will be considered. Remote presentations are not accepted.

Participation in the conference is free. The organisers are unable to cover travel or accommodation expenses for applicants to the Call for Speakers.

Accepted proposals will be announced by 13 October 2026.

Partners

Scientific Partners

The Dutch Graffiti Library is the foremost institution in the Netherlands dedicated to graffiti research. It has pioneered a sound institutional approach to the culture through publishing, exhibitions, and its own museum in Amsterdam.

Kladmuur Foundation is devoted to Groningen graffiti history. It has led the development of graffiti heritage in the Netherlands through museum exhibitions, an award-winning book, and the production of both the Unlock Book Fair 2022 and the Tag Conference Groningen 2024.

Diana Ozon is a poet, performer, archivist, lecturer, and one of the key protagonists of Amsterdam’s founding punk scene. Parts of her unique and extensive collection on early Dutch punk culture are now being acquired by the Amsterdam Museum and the Rijksmuseum.

SCHUNCK

The programme is hosted by SCHUNCK, an arts and culture centre housed in the Glaspaleis. This 1935 modernist landmark in the heart of Heerlen pioneered the all-glass façade, and remains one of the most architecturally distinctive buildings in the Netherlands.