Instagram as Container and Platform: a Digital Street Art Tour

The purpose of this tour is to examine Instagram's emergence as a popular platform for street art and how it as a container shapes the content of street art. The tour will be conducted digitally via the Instagram account @streetartoninstatour to reinforce the point being made- that street art is being increasingly consumed on this digital space. This new direction in street arts media history changes the way street art is both experienced and produced.

To begin the tour, one must follow the account @streetartoninstatour. After doing so, you will be tagged in the comments section of a photo on Instagram where you will find a comment left from the @streetartpninstatour account which will begin the discussion and provide further instruction on how to get to your next stop.

Stop 1

Instagram serves as a container for street art, not only storing the images posted but also literally shaping and “containing” parts of the art within a frame. The person taking a photo of street art for Instagram will encounter a number of…

Stop 2

Through the control the Instagram user possesses from the moment the photograph is conceived, the photo is reproduced in ways that may skew how the viewer sees or interprets it. Perhaps the angle makes the image unclear, the scale becomes unknown,…

Stop 3

Le Petit Voyeur is a printed limited edition visual arts publication from Copenhagen, Denmark. This photo posted is a photograph taken by photographer Soren Solkaer of graffiti artist Lee Quinones in front of Quinones's piece. Photographers such as…

Stop 4

Many amateur and professional street artists post their street art on Instagram as a way to publicize their pieces and adding longevity to the pieces life span. By creating Instagram accounts, these artists can use Instagram as a digital platform to…

Stop 5

Instagram has become such an effective way for artists to have their work seen that many artists put more weight on capturing an image of their art for Instagram and allowing their work to circulate through that digital platform than to have people…