Streetart in...

… Rio de Janeiro!

In March 2009, the Brazilian government passed a law which decriminalizes street art. In an amendment to a federal law that punishes the defacing of urban buildings or monuments, street art was made legal if done with the consent of the owners. 

So any owner who wanted to get a new style for his or her house is allowed to ask any street artist he wants to paint a owned wall. 

As progressive of a policy as this may sound, the legislation is actually a reflection of the evolving landscape in Brazilian street art, an emerging and divergent movement in the global street art landscape. 

In Brazil, there is a distinction made between tagging, known as pichação, and grafite, a street art style distinctive to Brazil. 

In 1999, there was a progressive policy project called “Não pixe, grafite”, meant that 35 graffiti artists came together to bring diversity to Rio's style. 

The unique thing about the graffiti in Rio is their style. Fluent blurred lines between formal and informal, always on the limit between legal and illegal. 

Legalizing this kind of art makes Rio even more different, authentic, and more alive. 

Graffiti are also defined by their conspicuous South American style. Graffiti exist everywhere. They can be found everywhere, from the favelas to Brazil's upper class neighbourhoods, from residential to institutional. Streets, museums, tourist attractions, everything is used for art. If the owner allows.