Graffiti, Gentrification and Broken Fingers

Public art is defined as art that is accessible to everyone, without the need for payment. The purpose of public art is to enrich the environment, improve the quality of life, strengthen local and community identity, encourage social interaction and serve as a tool for cultural and social expression. In addition, it creates points of interest and meeting, and sometimes even changes the image of the city or neighborhood. We find it on streets, squares, gardens at train stations and public buildings and it includes statues, murals, fountains, murals and graffiti.

Murals and graffiti are two of the most prominent features. Sometimes the concepts tend to be confused.

Graffiti is primarily illegal writing or drawing, usually using spray paint, on public walls. Sometimes these are "tags" - signatures of artists or groups, and sometimes protest or social messages. Graffiti is associated with underground culture, a desire to be seen, and often with opposition to the existing social order.

Murals are often large, commissioned, and approved works that are made on the walls of buildings as part of environmental beautification, community education, or social message projects. Murals are often institutional art, with credit to the artist, and they remain for a long time because the commissioner takes care of their preservation. The differences are not only technical or legal, but also concern the target audience, the message, and the social affiliation of the creator and the work.

Modern graffiti art developed greatly on the walls of the New York subway as part of hip-hop culture. Graffiti, a wild and full-bodied writing, stands in opposition to clean, bourgeois conservatism. An urban protest of a fringe culture that is not recognized by the establishment.

Not every spray-painted inscription seen on the street is necessarily "graffiti" with artistic value. There are many inscriptions with a general message ("N-Nach-Nachman is trained", etc.) that are sprayed by amateurs, compared to a graffiti artist who has mastered the technique, sprays with quality spray paint, with good paint that lasts over time. The artists finance the cost of the spray out of their own pockets, they don't get paid for it, but it's their way of presenting their art on the street.

What is gentrification?

Gentrification (Hebrew: עִלּוּת) is an urban-social process in which a population from the upper-middle class enters disadvantaged neighborhoods, changing their character, and leading to an increase in housing prices and the displacement of the older and less well-off population. The term was coined in 1964 by Ruth Glass, a British sociologist, as a way to describe the process that was taking place in some of London's neighborhoods during those years.

Gentrification is often accompanied by physical renovation of the space, changing the appearance of the streets, the replacement of businesses, and processes of cultural and social upliftment.

The connection between graffiti and gentrification

Graffiti, and later street art in general, often flourish in disadvantaged neighborhoods, where there is less municipal supervision and less interest from the authorities in dealing with what happens on the walls. Young artists find fertile ground in this space for creation, self-expression, and protest. The works turn the neighborhood into a center of cultural interest, attracting visitors, tourists, and sometimes even media coverage.

Over time, street art attracts a creative class – artists, designers, young entrepreneurs – who are looking for cheap spaces, inspiration and community. The streets are filled with small galleries, cafes, second-hand shops, and the unique atmosphere attracts a new population. This process is documented in many neighborhoods around the world – Soho in New York, Kreuzberg in Berlin, Shoreditch in London, Florentine in Tel Aviv and more.

When a neighborhood becomes trendy, entrepreneurs, investors, brokers, and real estate companies arrive. Street art, which was originally underground and protest-based, becomes a commercial tool: invited murals, graffiti tours, neighborhood branding, and the transformation of art into a consumer product and status symbol. Housing prices rise, and the original population is pushed out. The connection between street art and gentrification is paradoxical: art grows from the margins, but becomes a central tool in a process that erases the margins. Some artists protest against the process – sometimes even deliberately vandalizing their works in protest of the change the neighborhood is undergoing.

And what about Haifa? Haifa has broken fingers!

Broken Pingaz is the name of a street art collective founded at the beginning of this century by four young people who secretly painted on the walls of Haifa’s downtown area – an area that was neglected, marginal and distant from the mainstream cultural discourse. In the beginning, their graffiti was considered vandalism, and most of the works were repeatedly erased by the municipality.

Over the years, their unique style, which combines inspiration from many sources, has made them a household name not only in Israel but around the world. Their paintings are colorful, very graphic, full of images of popular culture, consumer products and horror films. They have participated in international projects, displayed on walls in important cities around the world and created music videos for the band U-2.

Before the coronavirus, Haifa hosted the Wall Festival in 2017-2018, and it was one of the most refreshing things to happen in Haifa. The festival, much of whose works are still on the walls, focused on changing the public space of the lower city, and members of Broken Pingaz took part in it.

The Walls Festival in the Lower City was an event that turned Haifa into a pilgrimage center for street art enthusiasts from Israel and around the world. The works have become an integral part of the urban landscape, and serve as a clear example of how street art can change the face of public space, attract new audiences, and transform neglected neighborhoods into centers of culture, tourism, and investment. The mythical Hurva Club building in the Lower City, which became the group's "canvas," is a Haifa icon that attracts many art lovers.

Is street art part of the solution or the problem?

The relationship between street art and gentrification is complex, dynamic, and sometimes paradoxical. Street art grows from the margins, but becomes a central tool in processes that erase those margins. It can be a lever for renewal, image improvement, and social dialogue, but also accelerate processes of commercialization, beautification, price increases, and exclusion.

In Haifa, as in many cities around the world, street art is an integral part of the urban landscape and the discourse on social justice, identity, and belonging. The challenge is to find the balance between free creation, community preservation, urban renewal, and social justice – so that art serves all of the city’s residents, not just the most powerful.

The lower city, once considered a neglected area, has become a hub of creativity, culture, and entertainment. Street art, galleries, new pubs, and restaurants have attracted a young, creative population. At the same time, urban renewal projects have begun to emerge, and rents have risen—a process reminiscent of the dynamics described in other cities around the world.

Alongside the lower city, Masada Bahdar Street and the Talpiot Market area are also full of murals. Whether this supports gentrification or not, it is worth taking a walk and enjoying the works of art that adorn the city's walls.