My project, “Visual governance in the city: rethinking graffiti and public images” won a three-year fellowship awarded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) for research innovation by early career folks.
This is huge news 🤯 🙊
Visual governance in the city: rethinking graffiti and public images
DECRA DE26 ARC funded project
Graffiti is a dynamic urban expression that challenges authority over public space. The project aims to understand how we manage urban spaces by regulating images like graffiti, posters, and street art, through the new concept of urban visual governance. It will examine the Australian graffiti removal industry and develop more effective and inclusive strategies for balancing restrictive policies and creative expression in cities. Expected outcomes include innovative methodologies that redefine how public images contribute to creating vibrant communities, policy recommendations for evidence-based graffiti management, and a new conceptual framework for urban visual justice. Benefits include pathways to more diverse and inclusive urban spaces.
I am SO PROUD that this project has received this endorsement. Tax payers’ money invested in understanding urban visual governance! Time invested in unpacking the buff/graffiti removal industry! Creative approaches to images in cities! Visual justice! YES YES YES 🩵 🩵 🩵
The project received a total of $516,311 for three years.
The DECRA is cruelly competitive and every awarded project comes with many other deserving ones that didn’t make the cut. This year there was a 13% success rate. There were 1534 applications received and 200 got funded (which is the same every year). It could have so easily landed differently for those of us who got it, and for those who didn’t.
You can apply for a DECRA within 5 years of your PhD, which extends if you account for career interruptions. I finished my PhD in 2018 but had five years of teaching-only contracts so I was still eligible. 54 out of 200 awardees were beyond five years from their PhD.
My fields of research for the project were urban geography and visual culture. Only four urban geography or built environment projects were funded. No visual culture projects were. 😶 This is hugely significant for the responsibility this project has towards representing these disciplines in this round and advocating for increased funding for our work.
The full list of funded projects is here. Exciting times ahead.
SABINA ANDRON 