As many European capitals, Lisbon has changed dramatically in the last decade in the uses, representations and urban policies of public spaces. These changes are related to an increase of immigration, tourism flows, programs of international student’s and artist exchanges, etc. This mobility population has provoked different perceptions of the city landscape In this exploratory ethnographic research we’ll follow the paths of different artists who work in the main streets of Lisbon. This presentation focuses on the ways in which these actors adjust their artistic activities to audiences that pass through core places of Lisbon. In that way we will analyse cooperative and competitive ties lived in their public performances. We will see how the commitment of these artists to achieve public status, aesthetic expression, sociability between peers and continuity of artistic occupation interconnects with the historical context, the political and economic powers that induce the decisions and goals of the social organization of the city.

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street musicians; Lisbon; immigration; public space