Women Muralists in Public Space: Activism, Memory, and Community in Peripheries of Madrid and Valencia

Abstract

Women’s muralism in the urban peripheries of Madrid and Valencia constitutes a form of public space intervention that brings together activism, memory, community participation, and the construction of territorial identities. Drawing on urban studies, public art, and feminist studies, this research examines how these interventions reshape local territories through practices of care, the recovery of women’s genealogies, heritage and environmental education, and the creation of community networks. A qualitative methodology was adopted, combining field observation, visual and iconographic analysis, netnography of artists’ Instagram posts, and semi-structured interviews. The findings show that urban peripheries function as spaces of cultural production where muralism extends beyond its aesthetic dimension to generate new forms of memory, belonging, and visibility, while social media play a key role in documenting, disseminating, and preserving these inherently ephemeral artistic practices.