Voices of dwelling: education, urban art, and postdigital multimodal narratives in the peripheral lifeworlds of adolescents

Abstract

Adolescents are facing complex social, cultural and technological changes that are reshaping how they develop
and perceive society. In multicultural urban suburbs, narratives of deficit can obscure their constructive actions
in creating their cities, minimizing their experiences and rendering their “voices of dwelling” invisible. This study
examines the conditions that enable adolescents to narrate their experiences and imagine the future, and explores
how urban art, narrative cartography and multimodal storytelling can function as pedagogical tools for placemaking.
Through postdigital configurations in which the body, media, and community are intertwined, murals,
maps, and mobile assemblages render marginal experiences visible and shareable. A qualitative, interpretive analysis
of a dialogue between a project carried out in Northern Italy and practices developed in the United States
and Latin America shows how multimodal narratives can express disorientation whilst revealing potential resources
and innovative relationships. These generate “third spaces” in which urban art fosters a sense of place,
intercultural bonds, and future images.