Capture graffiti digitally as a cultural heritage, explore it and enable a permanent experience

The INDIGO research team is systematically documenting the graffiti along Vienna's Donaukanal and is using photos to create a digital twin of the walls. They archive the ongoing change of the murals virtually, which means the graffiti are kept as an expression of their time of creation.

Three photos of a wall covered with graffiti on the Donaukanal, the sprayings are changing over the time

The graffiti along Vienna's Donaukanal are constantly changing. The INDIGO team has been photographing the walls regularly since 2021 and is processing the photos into distortion-free orthophotos and textures. These are the basis for a 3D surface model that accurately documents the sprayings, markings or posters.

Layers of different graffiti next to a map of Vienna´s Donaukanal

Here you can see the INDIGO research area along the Donaukanal, only parts of the walls are legal graffiti areas. The banks have been used for spraying for many years, so the graffiti overlap each other in several layers.

Bridge pier at the Donaukanal, covered with graffiti, the river flows in the background

The 3D model of the graffiti walls will be made publicly available via an online platform by the end of the project, together with all data. A large spatial database provides the basis for it.

Multicolored pigeons, symbols of the "Wiener Wände" (Viennese Walls)

A pigeon is the symbol for the "Wiener Wände" (Viennese Walls), which can be covered with graffiti legally. The artists also incorporate them into their sprayings directly.

Colorful graffiti at Vienna´s Donaukanal

The INDIGO database allows to search for and visualize graffiti found at the Donaukanal. It is also intended to stimulate the development of analytical methods for large image collections.

INDIGO is short for "INventory and DIsseminate Graffiti along the dOnaukanal" and is bringing together 13 researchers from different disciplines. Since 2021, they have been photographing the fast changing graffiti along the Donaukanal in Vienna at regular intervals and are processing them into detailed, distortion-free orthophotos and textures. From these, they develop a 3D surface model of the canal banks that precisely documents the sprayings, markings or posters spatially, spectrally and temporally. VRVis currently contributes its technological expertise to the project and provides suggestions for optimization or further development.

A database as an open archive for transient, public art

The 3D model of the walls and all data will be made publicly accessible via an online platform once the project is completed. The basis for this is a spatial database that manages all information and relevant metadata (including style, pseudonyms, date of creation). INDIGO involves the local graffiti community and relies heavily on their knowledge.

The INDIGO database allows to query and visualize graffiti of the Donaukanal via web application. Cultural, ethical, legal or political discourses, which the murals in the public space address, can thus be captured and easily traced. At the same time, the extensive database is intended to stimulate the development of analysis techniques for large image collections.

Further information

Details about INDIGO
INDIGO featured in the Austrian newspapers Der Standard & Die Presse
Overview of the competences of the VRVis research group Geospatial Visualization, Semantic Modelling and Acquisition

Former projects