Passeio, passing by, walking by. A platform of urban art and culture

Abstract

Passeio (the Portuguese word for walk) is a platform of urban art and culture, conceived within the scope of the University of Minho’s Communication and Society Research Centre (CECS). Using a qualitative methodology and an anthropological inspiration, this project looks at urban streets – in terms of architecture, graffiti, music, street theatre and animation, urban sports, handicrafts and traditional commerce, outdoor advertising and window-shopping – and organises its respective images and stories, focusing on the technological connections that extend the layout of these streets and networks. Based on a review of the theoretical paradigms related to visual culture, the city and notions of space and place, in this article the common point of departure for this passeio (walk) is the inspirational figure of the flâneur, as described and analysed by the German philosopher, Walter Benjamin.