Person

Reader
- Division of Art History and Visual Studies
- Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences
Contact information
E-mail peter.bengtsenkultur.luse
Room LUX:A411
Visiting address
Helgonavägen 3, Lund
Postal address
Box 192, 221 00 Lund
Internal post code 30
One of my main research interests is street art as an artistic and social phenomenon. I have been writing about this academically since 2006.
In 2014, my first book, The Street Art World, was independently published by Almendros de Granada Press. They also published my second book,
Street Art and the Environment, in 2018.
I am currently working on a monograph that focuses on experimentation with visual methods to explore the world of graffiti writing.
Together with professor Max Liljefors, I am also conducting the research project Art Worlds Apart, funded by the Swedish Research Council (2022-2024).
From October 2018 to May 2019 I coordinated the Urban Creativity research theme at the Pufendorf Institute for Advanced Studies at Lund University.
In May 2019 I co-founded the interdisciplinary research network
Urban Creativity Lund.
Research
My profile in Lund University research portal
- The Street Art World
- What makes us human?
- The commercial status of street art (pilot study) (research leader)
- Agent of change: an ecocritical study of street art (research leader)
- Biofictions
- Systematic implementation of aesthetic experiences and artistic activities in the care of persons with Parkinson’s disease
- The Urban Creativity Pufendorf IAS Theme (research leader)
- Visual Ecocriticism and the Art of Josh Keyes
- Visual research methods: exploring the world of graffiti writing (research leader)
- Degrowth - Theme, Pufendorf IAS
Books (2)
- Bengtsen, P. (2018). Street Art and the Environment. Almendros de Granada Press.
- Bengtsen, P. (2014). The Street Art World. Almendros de Granada Press. Dissertation.
Editorships (2)
- Bengtsen, P., Liljefors, M. & Petersén, M. (2018). (Eds.) Bild och natur : Tio konstvetenskapliga betraktelser. Lund Studies in Arts and Cultural Sciences, 16. Lund Studies in Arts and Cultural Sciences.
- Hansson, K. & Bengtsen, P. (2018). (Eds.) The Unbound Brain. Culture Unbound. Journal of Current Cultural Research, 10. Linköping University Electronic Press.
Articles (12)
- Bengtsen, P. (2020). The monetization of the street art world and the fossilization of urban public space. Visual Inquiry: Learning & Teaching Art, 9, 45-58. Intellect Ltd..
- Bengtsen, P. (2019). Exploring tags through videography. Lo Squaderno, 54, 37-39. Professionaldreamers.
- Alftberg, Å. & Bengtsen, P. (2018). The Sci-Fi Brain: Narratives in Neuroscience and Popular Culture. Culture Unbound. Journal of Current Cultural Research, 10, 11-30. Linköping University Electronic Press.
- Bengtsen, P. & Hansson, K. (2018). The Unbound Brain – A Thematic Introduction. Culture Unbound. Journal of Current Cultural Research, 10, 4-10. Linköping University Electronic Press.
- Bengtsen, P. (2017). The myth of the “street artist”: a brief note on terminology. Street Art & Urban Creativity Scientific Journal, 3, 104-105. Urban Creativity.
- Ross, J. I., Bengtsen, P., Lennon, J. F., Phillips, S. & Wilson, J. Z. (2017). In search of academic legitimacy : The current state of scholarship on graffiti and street art. The Social Science Journal, 54, 411-419. Elsevier.
- Bengtsen, P. (2016). Hijacking Banksy : using a contemporary art mystery to increase academic readership. Street Art & Urban Creativity Scientific Journal, 2, 60-66. Urban Creativity.
- Bengtsen, P. (2015). Carelessness or Curatorial Chutzpah? Controversies Surrounding Street Art in the Museum. Konsthistorisk Tidskrift, 84, 220-233. Taylor & Francis.
- Bengtsen, P. (2015). Until the end of the world? Biocentrism and traces of human presence in the paintings of Josh Keyes. Journal of Ecocriticism, 7. Canadian Association for the Study of Humanities and the Environment.
- Bengtsen, P. & Arvidsson, M. (2014). Spatial justice and street art. NAVEIÑ REET: Nordic Journal of Law and Social Research, 1, 117-130.
- Bengtsen, P. (2013). Beyond the Public Art Machine : a Critical Examination of Street Art as Public Art. Konsthistorisk Tidskrift, 82, 63-80. Taylor & Francis.
- Bengtsen, P. (2013). Just gardens? On the struggle for space and spatial justice. Australian Feminist Law Journal, 39, 79-92. Routledge.
Book chapters (8)
- Bengtsen, P. (2019). Decontextualisation of Street Art. In Bonadio, E. (Ed.) The Cambridge Handbook of Copyright in Street Art and Graffiti (pp. 41-52). Cambridge University Press.
- Bengtsen, P. (2018). Ensuring continuity in teaching at a university based on impermanent employment. In Maurits, A. & Mårtensson, K. (Eds.) Pedagogiska dilemman : Proceedings från Humanistiska och teologiska fakulteternas pedagogiska inspirationskonferens 2016 (pp. 135-141). Humanistiska och teologiska fakulteterna, Lunds universitet.
- Bengtsen, P. (2018). Street art and the nature of the city. In Bengtsen, P., Liljefors, M. & BengtsenLiljefors, M. P. (Eds.) Lund Studies in Arts and Cultural Sciences, Bild och natur. Tio konstvetenskapliga betraktelser (pp. 125-138), 16. Lund Studies in Arts and Cultural Sciences.
- Bengtsen, P. (2017). Fashion Curates Art : Takashi Murakami for Louis Vuitton. In Vänskä, A. & Clark, H. (Eds.) Fashion Curating. Critical Practice in the Museum and Beyond (pp. 199-212). Bloomsbury Academic.
- Bengtsen, P. & Suneson, E. (2017). Pathological creativity : How popular media connect neurological disease and creative practices. In Hansson, K. & Idvall, M. (Eds.) The Pandora Series, Interpreting the brain in society. Cultural reflections on neuroscientific practices (pp. 29-47), 25. Arkiv förlag.
- Bengtsen, P. (2016). Stealing from the public : the value of street art taken from the street. In Ross, J. I. (Ed.) Routledge Handbook of Graffiti and Street Art (pp. 416-428). Routledge.
- Bengtsen, P., Goysdotter, M. & Hedlund, A. (2014). Interdisciplinarity, group responsibility and conflict as resources for learning. In Maurits, A. & Mårtensson, K. (Eds.) Högskolepedagogisk reflektion och praktik : proceedings från humanistiska och teologiska fakulteternas pedagogiska inspirationskonferens 2012. Lunds universitet, Humanistiska och teologiska fakulteterna.
- Bengtsen, P. (2013). Site Specificity and Street Art. In Elkins, J. (Ed.) Theorizing Visual Studies: Writing Through the Discipline (pp. 250-253). Routledge.
Conference contributions (27)
- Bengtsen, P. (2020). Follow me! Experimental methods for engaging with the world of graffiti writing.
- Bengtsen, P. (2019). Living with street art.
- Bengtsen, P. (2019). Opening talk for Lund Urban Creativity Conference 2019.
- Bengtsen, P. (2019). Video as a method for exploring graffiti tagging, analysing empirical material and communicating results to the public.
- Bengtsen, P. (2018). Is street art site-specific?.
- Bengtsen, P. (2018). On environmental street art.
- Bengtsen, P. (2017). Sanctioned “street art” and the fossilisation of urban public space.
- Bengtsen, P. (2016). Agent of change : street art and environmental thinking.
- Bengtsen, P. (2016). Ensuring continuity in teaching at a university based on impermanent employment.
- Bengtsen, P. (2016). Hijacking Banksy : a discussion about ethical research practice within the street art world.
- Bengtsen, P. (2016). Street art and visual ecocriticism.
- Bengtsen, P. (2015). Keynote : Thoughts on the preservation of street art murals.
- Bengtsen, P. (2015). Street art and museums.
- Bengtsen, P. (2015). Takashi Murakami and Louis Vuitton : on the integration of art and fashion.
- Bengtsen, P. (2014). Flooding culture : street art and graffiti as means of opposition.
- Bengtsen, P. (2014). Stealing from the public : on the removal of street art from the street.
- Bengtsen, P. (2014). The value of street art : on the commodity status of artworks removed from the street.
- Bengtsen, P. (2014). Urban miners : life in the waste-land of the information society.
- Bengtsen, P. & Arvidsson, M. (2014). Law, street art and spatial justice.
- Arvidsson, M. & Bengtsen, P. (2013). Artistic and Cultural Practices in Urban Spaces: Law, Justice, Contestation.
- Bengtsen, P. (2013). Bridging the islands of consciousness : on street art’s potential to affect our perception of public space.
- Bengtsen, P. (2013). Including everyone and boring no one : on the advantages and challenges of teaching interdisciplinary courses.
- Bengtsen, P. (2012). Carelessness or Curatorial Chutzpah? : Controversies Surrounding Street Art in the Museum.
- Bengtsen, P. (2012). Just gardens? : On parks as spaces of law and morality.
- Bengtsen, P., Goysdotter, M. & Hedlund, A. (2012). Interdisciplinarity, group responsibility and conflict as resources for learning.
- Bengtsen, P. (2011). Cultural Production Outside the Confines of the Institution.
- Bengtsen, P. (2011). Images of Risk Taking : On Graffiti as Process and Gesture.
Reports (1)
Reviews (1)
Articles in specialist publications and popular press (3)
- Bengtsen, P. (2016). Street art studies : some thoughts on an emerging academic discipline. Inchiesta. Edizioni Dedalo S R L.
- Bengtsen, P. (2013). Gadekunsten og den kommercielle kunstverden. Konstperspektiv, 1/2013, 16-20. SKR.
- Bengtsen, P. (2010). Pneumatic Objects. The Art Street Journal, 2, 4-4.
Newspaper articles (1)
Miscellaneous (11)
- Bengtsen, P. (2020). Tracing KEGR scavenger hunt documentary.
- Bengtsen, P. (2019). Tracing KEGR.
- Bengtsen, P. (2016). Clickbait : the cash, flaws and ethics of “revealing” Banksy. Vandalog.
- Bengtsen, P. (2015). Street art and the exploration of urban public space.
- Bengtsen, P. (2015). Street art, exploration and democracy.
- Bengtsen, P. (2015). Street art's explorative potential.
- Bengtsen, P. (2015). Street art’s potential to create an active, critical public.
- Bengtsen, P. (2014). That’s your shadow on the wall, you know?.
- Bengtsen, P. (2013). Street art and the art market. Lunds konsthall.
- Bengtsen, P. (2012). An Introduction to Street Art. UR Samtiden.
- Bengtsen, P. (2011). Street art - what is it?. Skissernas museum, Lund.
Other tasks and qualifications

Reader
- Division of Art History and Visual Studies
- Department of Arts and Cultural Sciences
Contact information
E-mail peter.bengtsenkultur.luse
Room LUX:A411
Visiting address
Helgonavägen 3, Lund
Postal address
Box 192, 221 00 Lund
Internal post code 30