Street graffiti, as a multidimensional communicative-artistic phenomenon, has increasingly attracted attention in contemporary urban studies. While prior research has focused on its aesthetic, protest, or informal aspects, the complex processes of meaning-making and the ways street artists engage with urban signs and symbolic layers remain underexplored from the perspective of lived experience. This study investigates meaning-making in street graffiti through the conceptual metaphor of “urban cannibalism,” examining how artists ingest, digest, and reproduce existing signs to create meaning and reconfigure urban space.



A qualitative approach grounded in interpretative phenomenology was employed. The study population included 20 active graffiti artists in Tehran (12 men and 8 women), purposefully selected through snowball sampling. Data were collected via in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic content analysis with MAXQDA software, focusing on understanding artists’ lived experiences and the symbolic layers of their interventions.



Findings revealed ten main themes illustrating the stages of urban cannibalism, from initial reading of space and pre-existing signs, selection of abandoned areas, creative integration with environmental elements, digestion of formal and commercial signs, to the synthesis, continuity, and reproduction of meanings in observers’ experiences. These themes reflect a dynamic, gradual process of meaning and space re-creation.



The study concludes that street graffiti is not merely a visual act but a multilayered symbolic process resisting spatial homogenization. Theoretically, it contributes to urban art and spatial production studies; practically, it offers insights for urban planners and cultural policymakers. Limitations include access challenges, focus on Tehran, and reliance on individual narratives.