The city belongs to them too: women in Riga's street art and graffiti scene

Urban space has never been merely a neutral backdrop to everyday life. It is a socially and politically structured environment where power relations, economic interests and cultural discourses intersect. What appears on building walls, streets and public spaces also reflects the hierarchies and unwritten rules present in society at large.

For a long time, graffiti and street art were perceived as a predominantly male territory, governed by its own informal rules and pecking order. This form of art developed as something of a closed subculture, one in which women historically found it harder to gain entry and recognition on equal footing with their male counterparts.

A shift in the city's visual identity

In recent years, however, Riga's visual character has become significantly more multi-voiced. This means the city's walls and public spaces no longer reflect a single, traditionally male, perspective, but rather a broader range of voices — including the presence and contribution of women.

This shift suggests that street art and graffiti in Riga are no longer confined to a closed male subculture, but are becoming a more open and inclusive expression of urban space, one in which women artists also have their place. In turn, this changes how the city is perceived and claimed by different groups within society — increasingly belonging to all its residents, not only to the group that has historically dominated it.